


















' 
































































THE 


PERFECT RELIGIOUS. 


FOR THE USE OF CONFESSORS IN CONVENTS, 
THE INMATES OF CONVENTS, AND 
THOSE WHO ASPIRE TO THE 
RELIGIOUS LIFE . 


INSTRUCTIONS OF 

/ 

Monseigneur D’ORLEANS DE LA MOTTE, 

Bishop of A miens. 


New York, Cincinnati, Chicago : 

BENZIGER BROTHERS, 

Printers to the Holy Apostolic See. 

1900. 


Library of Congros^i 
Offlcs o f the 


PE- 5 - iwn 


Kegfster of Copyrfghtfc 


Two copies receivei), 



mm ©bstat. 

REMY LAFORT, 

Censor Librorum. 



IFmprimatur. 

•F MICHAEL AUGUSTINE, 

Archbishop of New York. 

New York, October 31, 1890. 

StGJUD GOc 




Copyright, 1900, by Benzic;er Brothers. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Preface. 7 

Dedication. 11 


PART I. 

The Virtues and the Employments of the Convent. 
An Introduction to the Religious Life. 

CHAPTER I. 

On the Virtues of the Convent. . . 15 

CHAPTER II. 

On the Employments of the Convent. 32 


PART II. 

The Portrait of the Perfect Religious. 

Introduction.-. 50 

1. 

Concerning the Sacrifices by Means of which the Perfect 
Religious makes a Constant Offering of herself to 
her Divine Bridegroom . 52 

CHAPTER I. 

The Perfect Religious is a Willing Victim upon the 

Altar of Solitude. 55 


3 












4 


- Contents < 


CHAPTER II. 

PAGE 

The Perfect Religious is a Willing Victim upon the 

Altar of Poverty. 69 

CHAPTER III. 

The Perfect Religious is a Willing Victim upon the 

Altar of Obedience. 76 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Perfect Religious is a Willing Victim upon the 

Altar of Mortification. 83 

ir. 

On the Virtues which a Perfect Religious ought Con¬ 
stantly to Practice in Order to Please her Divine 
Bridegroom . 88 

CHAPTER I. 

On the Tender Piety which the True Religious 

ought ever to Feel towards God. 89 

CHAPTER II. 

On the Fidelity wherewith a Religious ought to 
Fulfil all the Duties appertaining to her 
Vocation. 101 

CHAPTER III. 

On the Fraternal Charity which a Religious ought 

to Exercise towards her Sisters. 109 

CHAPTER IV. 

On the Humility which it Behooves a Religious to 

Practise at all Times and on all Occasions. 120 

Twelve Degrees of Humility. 126 

Conclusion. 












Contents. 5 

PART III. 

PAGE 

An Examination of Conscience Intended for Nuns, 
and for those who Desire to Embrace the Re 
ligious Life. 147 


PART IV. 

Devotions for Mass, for the Use of Religious. 
CHAPTER I 

A Method of Hearing Mass for Non-communicants.. 190 
CHAPTER II. 

A Method of Hearing Mass for the Use of Intend¬ 
ing Communicants... • 213 







PREFACE. 


The name of the author does not appear 
upon the title-page of this work. All that is 
definitely known concerning it is that it con¬ 
tains the instructions of a certain Bishop of 
Amiens, named d’Orleans de la Motte, who 
is said to have written two ascetical works, 
which were published respectively in the years 
1777 and 1785. This work consequently dates 
from the period immediately preceding the 
French Revolution; a new edition of it being 
issued from time to time during subsequent 
years. One of these, printed in Lyons in 
1821, is that from which the present transla¬ 
tion is made. The counsels contained in it 
are given in so simple and practical a form, it 
enters so thoroughly into the true spirit of 
the religious life, whilst going into every de- 
7 



s 


Preface. 


tail of it, that this little book deserves a place 
amongst the best works on the subject. 

The different sections follow one another in 
consecutive order. The first part is an intro¬ 
duction to the religious life, giving a general 
view of the virtues and the employments of 
the convent. The second part presents the 
portrait of the perfect religious as a living vic¬ 
tim, a victim in and through the virtues she prac¬ 
tises, the employments in which she is en¬ 
gaged, immolated continually upon the altar, 
but not slain; always living, always active, and 
yet always dying. The third part consists of 
an examination of conscience, to enable the 
nun to search into her inmost heart, and dis¬ 
cover to what extent she has hitherto suc¬ 
ceeded in forming herself to the image of a 
living victim. The fourth part consists of two 
methods of hearing Mass, for the use of nuns, 
one for non-communicants, the other for 
those who are about to approach the holy 
table, showing how, in either case, they should 
unite the voluntary oblation of themselves, 
which is the habitual attitude of their soul, to 
the unbloody sacrifice of the altar, in order by 


Preface . 


9 


this union to offer themselves to the heavenly 
Father as a victim acceptable in His sight. 

In regard to the portrait given in the sec¬ 
ond part, it does, it is true, depict a nun who 
is in every respect perfect, and the contempla¬ 
tion of it may perhaps on that account tend to 
the discouragement of some readers, and give 
rise to the idea that something quite impos¬ 
sible of attainment is proposed to them. But 
let not the weak and imperfect take alarm. 
Pictures are ideals, their subject being de¬ 
picted in its most perfect form; it is not ex¬ 
pected of those on whom the imitation of it 
is enjoined that they should reproduce it in a 
like degree of perfection. Those who do but 
strive to approximate to it as nearly as pos¬ 
sible, and to reflect in their person the model 
set before them, according to the measure of 
power and of grace conferred upon them by 
God, will have fulfilled the task assigned them. 
Therefore do not lose heart, you who are con¬ 
secrated to God, because of the perfection of 
the portrait you are called upon to copy. If, 
in humility and reliance upon God, you en¬ 
deavor to mould yourself little by little after 


10 


Preface. 


the sublime model proposed to you as your 
example, if with unvarying patience you strive 
little by little to correct your faults and add to 
your virtues, you will finally reach the degree 
of perfection which your divine Spouse, your 
Lord and Master, desires you to attain, and 
to which His hand will shape and fashion you. 
God grant that you may ever find this little 
book a sure and faithful guide in the way of 
holiness ! 


DEDICATION. 


To the Confessors in Convents, the inmates of 
Convents, and those zvho are intending to 
consecrate themselves to God in some Re¬ 
ligious Community. 

To you, Priests of the Lord, called by Him 
to lead His chosen spouses in the way of holi¬ 
ness, the writer dedicates in the first place this 
little book, thinking that it may be of service 
to you. The guidance of these privileged 
souls would not have been intrusted to you, 
had you not been considered qualified to in¬ 
struct those whom God calls to lead a life of 
perfection in the science of the saints; in this 
book you will find many useful hints as to the 
means of inspiring them with the love of vir¬ 
tue and inciting them to the practice of it. 

TI 



12 


Dedication. 


And do you, cloistered nuns, who are con¬ 
secrated to God in a special manner, ponder 
well this truth, that the sanctity of the place 
does not make the sanctity of its inmates. 
How many nuns, alas ! make no progress at 
all in virtue, how many are less virtuous than 
they were when in the world! The reason of 
this is not far to seek: it is because they are 
not sufficiently convinced of the necessity of 
being faithful in little things, in the least 
things, and of fulfilling duties which are 
of the lowest and most distasteful nature; 
they do not keep a vigilant watch over their 
own heart, and they often neglect essential 
duties, because they do not fully know 
what the Lord requires of them. Read 
this book and this will be made plain to 
you; follow the injunctions that are given to 
you, and be assured that whilst you are work¬ 
ing at your own sanctification, you will learn 
to love and esteem the holy state you have 
embraced. 

Christian maidens, who have not as yet 
made choice of a state of life, remember that 
you will only prepare unhappiness for your- 


Dedication. 


13 


selves, if you enter the cloister without a true 
vocation, or, granting that you have the voca¬ 
tion, if you do not form an adequate idea of 
the sanctity the religious life demands of you. 
From this time forth see that you lead a truly 
Christian life, avoid sin, renounce the vanities 
of the world, practise yourself in virtue. Pray 
without ceasing that the Lord may vouchsafe 
to enlighten you; take counsel of a wise and 
good confessor, who is zealous for the salva¬ 
tion of souls, to whom you can disclose your 
past life, your present state of mind, and the 
motives which urge you to bury yourself in 
the sacred seclusion of the cloister. Do you 
also make use of this little book, and learn 
from it how great are the responsibilities you 
will take upon yourself; above all, learn from 
it, before you yourself become a religious, 
what a perfect religious really is. 




THE PERFECT RELIGIOUS. 


PART I. 

THE VIRTUES AND THE EMPLOYMENTS 
OF THE CONVENT AN INTRODUC¬ 
TION TO THE RELIGIOUS LIFE .. 


CHAPTER I. 

ON THE VIRTUES OF THE CONVENT. 

Listen attentively, ye souls that are con¬ 
secrated to God, to that which is now enjoined 
upon you; lay it well to heart, and practise it 
constantly! There is no virtue which a Chris¬ 
tian maiden is not bound to practise, more 
especially one who is consecrated to God; but 
there are virtues which should shine with 
special brightness in the case of the latter. 




16 


On the Virtues of the Convent. 


These virtues are: Piety, charity, detachment 
and purity. 


I. PIETY. 

It is this virtue which incites to the devout 
performance of every act which has reference 
to the service of God. It teaches those who 
practise it to adore God unceasingly, and to 
find their delight in paying Him every kind 
of homage, in the sacred exercises of religion. 

The expression “ a religious ” comes from 
the word “ religion ”; it therefore shows that 
a person who, by virtue of the state she has 
chosen, is consecrated to God, ought to make 
religion her chief occupation. 

The word “ religious ” also designates a 
person who is united to the Lord by a new 
and stronger bond. 

Through baptism, by means of which they 
are born again in Jesus Christ, all Christians 
are dedicated to God and united to Him. 
When you were baptized, God made a close 
covenant with you. He then said to you: 
“ You belong to Me, I will be your God; you 
are Mine, and I adopt you as My children. 


On the Virtues of the Convent . 


17 


You are the members, the disciples of Jesus 
Christ, My Son; you are the temple of the 
Holy Ghost! ” 

Hence you were then united to God, but 
upon your entrance into the holy state 
of religion, you thus addressed Him: “ Lord, 
I desire to be yet more closely united to 
Thee. I do not wish to serve Thee in the 
world. Salvation is too grievously imperilled 
there, and it is very difficult to maintain an 
unbroken intercourse with Thee. Admit me 
into Thy house, that I may belong altogether 
to Thee.” 

You consecrate yourselves to Him, 
through promises which you make with all 
solemnity before His holy altar. Jesus Christ, 
rejoicing to see that you generously and lov¬ 
ingly offer up to Him all that you possess, 
your hopes, your will, and your liberty, then 
says to each one of you: “ I take thee for My 
bride, and will be to thee a faithful Bride¬ 
groom.” From that hour you can call Him 
your Bridegroom, and such indeed He is. 
How precious ought this Bridegroom to be to 
you! Reflect that you are no longer your own, 


18 On the Virtues of the Convent. 

but Jesus Christ’s; you are bound to Him by 
a twofold dedication. How great then ought 
to be your devotion to Jesus Christ, your di¬ 
vine Spouse! For it L written; “ When thou 
hast made a vow to the Lord thy God, thou 
shalt not delay to pay it ” (Deut. xxiii. 21). 
How great ought to be your piety when you 
kneel before the sacred tabernacle, where for 
your sake He deigns to dwell! Your Rule 
prescribes that you should visit it frequently; 
approach it therefore with love, in order to 
present your homage to your heavenly Bride¬ 
groom. While you remain in His presence, 
let your mind be filled with the same thoughts 
which occupy the minds of the blessed spirits 
who hover around His sacred altar. How 
great should be your piety, when you hold 
converse with Him during times of prayer ! 
Pour out your heart into His, and desire that 
it may be one and the same as His. The evil 
spirit will often attempt to draw you away 
from your absorption in God, by suggesting 
to your mind distracting thoughts. Under 
these circumstances, what ought you to do ? 

Never dwell on these thoughts, humble your- 


On the Virtues of the Convent. 19 

selves without giving way to discouragement 
on account of them; excite yourselves to zeal; 
say to your Bridegroom: “ Thou art, and 
Thou shalt ever be, the Beloved of my heart! ” 
How great should be your piety when you 
recite or chant your Office, which is rightly 
termed the Divine Office, because through it 
you praise God in the name of the Church! 
Remember, that it is a truly angelic occupa¬ 
tion, for you are doing the same in the temple 
of God, which is heaven upon earth, as the 
blessed spirits in the celestial dwelling-place. 

How great should be your piety, when dur¬ 
ing Holy Mass you are present at the won¬ 
drous sacrifice of the altar, in which Jesus 
Christ applies to your souls the merits of the 
sacrifice which He offered up for you on the 
cross, and when you approach the holy table, 
in order by means of holy communion to 
unite yourselves spiritually and corporally with 
Jesus Christ! You are very frequently privi¬ 
leged to receive Him, in order that you may 
partake of His adorable flesh, and that thus 
your souls may be nourished. How great is 
your happiness! How great should be your 


20 


On the Virtues of the Convent. 


sanctity! In my eyes you are more sacred than 
the precious vessels of which the servants of 
God make use whilst celebrating the divine 
mysteries. You are chalices, living chalices 
containing His sacred body and blood! 

Let then your piety correspond to the holi¬ 
ness of your Bridegroom, who is indeed thrice 
holy, and it will produce and perfect in you 
the second virtue which should be specially 
admired in a nun: divine charity. 

II. charity. 

Have, in the first place, so great a love of 
God, that every one may plainly perceive it 
in your whole exterior, in all your words and 
actions. 

The love of God does indeed dwell in the 
heart, but it soon manifests itself if it has real 
life. 

The flame of this sacred fire pervades every 
sense, and reveals its presence in every word 
and action. 

On beholding a Scholastica, a Teresa, a 
Catharine, any one should say in regard to each 
of them, without fear of being deceived: ‘‘ She 


On the Virtues of the Convent . 


21 


loves God/’ O! what precious treasures does 
a community possess which includes among 
its members some nuns at least who are filled 
with love of God! How much does their good 
example benefit their sisters! Their presence 
alone is a continual and convincing discourse 
upon the love which we ought to have for God. 

O my sisters, why do you not each and all 
strive and labor to be of the number of those 
fervent nuns whose heart unceasingly says to 
God, “ I love Thee; ” whose actions are all 
animated by love of .God; whose edifying de¬ 
meanor incites all the various persons with 
whom they come into contact to a greater love 
of God? How pleasing would you be in the 
sight of the Lord! How rich a treasure would 
you lay up for yourselves in heaven ! 

Charity is directed to two objects: God in 
the first place, our neighbor in the second. 
Love your neighbor for God’s sake; let it be 
God that you love in him. 

You all form but one body, of which Jesus 
Christ is the Head; follow therefore the ex¬ 
ample of the early Christians, and have but 
one heart, but one soul! 


22 


On the Virtues of the Convent. 


Alas! what do the votaries of the world 
know about Christian charity? If they attach 
themselves to certain persons, they do so from 
selfish motives, from a sense of obligation, or. 
too often from evil propensities; for other peo¬ 
ple they feel only indifference and frequently 
dislike,- or even contempt. 

Do these so-called Christians fulfil that spe¬ 
cial precept of Jesus Christ: “ Love one an¬ 
other, as I have loved you? ” And yet He wills 
that the fulfilment of this command should be 
a distinguishing mark of His true followers. 

Let therefore all of you cherish a fervent 
love for one another. For if you thus love 
one another for the sake of God, you will love 
God and fulfil the whole law. 

When St. John, the beloved disciple of Jesus 
Christ, had reached a very advanced age, he 
scarcely ever said anything to the assembled 
faithful, except these words: “ My beloved 
children, love one another! ” And when his 
disciples expressed to him their astonishment 
that he so constantly repeated to them the 
same exhortation, he gave them the following 
answer, which you ought never to forget: 


On the Virtues of the Convent. 


2 3 


“ This is the precept of the Lord; fulfil it 
aright, and that is enough!” But how can 
this be enough? some of you may perhaps in¬ 
quire. 

Yes, it is enough, because those who fulfil 
this command in a perfect manner, acquit 
themselves satisfactorily of all the rest. Yes, 
it is enough! But it is necessary that this love 
of your neighbor should not be unfruitful. 
You must show that you possess Christian 
charity; and you will show it if you prevent, 
as far as possible, quarrels and differences from 
arising among you. Let this love be shown in 
your conversation; be careful never to utter 
a word calculated to wound this virtue, and 
which does not arise from that gentleness 
which has its root in humility, and which Jesus 
Christ commends to us when He says: “ Learn 
of Me, because I am meek and humble of 
Heart ” (Matt. xi. 29). 

Let this love enable you to bear in a Chris¬ 
tian spirit with the failings of your sisters. 
You wish your own faults to be borne with; 
why then should you not bear with those of 
others? Remember how our adorable Re- 


24 


On the Virtues of the Convent. 


deemer bore for three whole years with the 
ignorance, the roughness, and the weaknesses 
of His apostles. 

Let this love lead you to comfort those 
whom God visits with affliction, to sympathize 
with those who are sick or infirm, to seek 
to help them, and to exhort them to praise 
God in the midst of their sufferings. St. Paul 
said: “ Who is weak and I am not weak? ” (2 
Cor. xi. 29). Let this love induce you to pray 
for all, and more particularly for those in re¬ 
gard to whom you perceive that, through neg¬ 
lect of the Rule, they are straying from that 
path of perfection in which it should be their 
constant endeavor to walk. If by means of 
gentle remonstrances you can lead them back 
to their duty, Christian charity will teach you 
not to neglect this exercise of zeal. 

Finally, let this love cause you to be careful 
always to set one another a good example. 
The great Apostle has said to all Christians: 
“ Edify one another! ” Ought not this pre¬ 
cept to be specially applicable to persons who 
are consecrated to God? 


On the Virtues of the Cofivent . 


2 5 


III. DETACHMENT. 

From what ought you to detach yourselves? 
From all transitory goods, from all posses¬ 
sions, from all creatures, from every kind of 
honor or dignity, and above all, from your 
own will. According to the Apostle, attach¬ 
ment to transitory goods is the source of all 
evil. 

It was in order to inspire us with contempt 
of earthly goods that Jesus Christ chose pov¬ 
erty for Himself—He, the almighty God, to 
whom the earth belongs with all things that 
are in it. 

In order to escape the danger of riches, to 
which those who possess them find it so diffi¬ 
cult not to cling, and of which a bad use may 
so easily be made, you have renounced them, 
and have taken the vow of poverty. See there¬ 
fore that you constantly keep it. In the prac¬ 
tice of poverty you will be rich, for Jesus 
Christ Himself will be your treasure. You 
will be able to exclaim with one of the saints: 
“ Behold, Jesus Christ is my riches! ” Love 
poverty with your whole heart. Desire noth- 


2 6 


On the Virtues cf the Convent. 


ing which you do not possess. Be content 
with mere necessaries, and give thanks to 
God, if you find yourselves destitute of some¬ 
thing which would be really useful to you. 

Practise poverty, by considering nothing of 
any kind as your own. In virtue of the vow of 
poverty, which you pronounced entirely of 
your own free will at the foot of the altar, you 
possess nothing. You are only allowed to em¬ 
ploy such things as are given you for your 
use. Be truly poor, and let this poverty ex¬ 
tend to everything, without exception. But 
it is not from the goods of this world only that 
you ought to be detached, but from every¬ 
thing which is not God. 

Detach yourselves also from the esteem and 
approbation of creatures. What can it matter 
whether you are in favor or disfavor, whether 
you are honored or despised, whether you are 
praised or blamed, if only what you do is pleas¬ 
ing to Jesus Christ, your heavenly Spouse? 
Do not forget the words of the great Apostle: 
“ If I yet pleased men, I should not be the 
servant of Christ ” (Gal. i. io). 

Be detached from all desire of office. If it 


On the Virtues of the Convent . 


2 ) 


were permitted you to wish for anything, it 
would be that you might be the last in the 
house of God; lay well to heart the funda¬ 
mental principle of St. Francis of Sales: “ Re¬ 
fuse nothing and ask for nothing.” 

To whatever post you may be appointed, or 
whatever employment may be assigned to you, 
it is certain that you will have something to 
suffer. In any case, it is the one intended by 
God for you, and if it is His will that you 
should meet with crosses, there will be conso¬ 
lation for you in the thought that you have had 
no choice in the matter, and you will be able 
to say to Him: “ Lord, I did not seek my 
present position, I received it as from Thy 
hand; grant me therefore grace to fulfil its du¬ 
ties aright, and to suffer with patience.” 

Finally, be detached from your own will. St. 
Bernard said that if there were no self-will 
there would be no hell, because no one would 
sin any more. If you can truly renounce your 
own will, there will be no hell for you. When 
a nun pronounces the vow of obedience she 
makes a sacrifice of her own will. Her will 
belongs no longer to her, but to God; she 


28 


On the Virtues of the Com ent. 


must obey her superiors as she obeys God, 
since they stand to her in the place of God; 
she must be in their hands as molten wax, 
which can be made to take any shape, and 
which never offers any resistance to the hand 
which seeks to mould it. Never should she 
be heard to utter such expressions as the fol¬ 
lowing: “ I will, I will not, I would rather.” 

At the slightest sign given by those persons 
who have a right to command her, a true nun 
should immediately say in her heart to God: 
“ Here am I!” Then she should swiftly, ex¬ 
actly, and joyfully obey, from love of God. and 
in union with Jesus Christ, our adorable Mas¬ 
ter, who was obedient to His heavenly 
Father, to Mary and Joseph, to His judges, 
and even to His executioners unto death, the 
death of the cross. 

IV. PURITY. 

There is a fourth virtue, which ought to be 
specially admired in Christian maidens who 
are consecrated to God; this virtue is purity. 
And this angelic virtue should be dear to them 


On the Virtues of the Convent. 


2 9 


above all the rest, because Jesus Christ, their 
celestial Spouse, is the lover of pure souls. 

How deeply would they not grieve and 
offend Him, were they to cease to possess this 
virtue! And yet it is so easy to impair it, or even 
to lose it altogether, if any one is presump¬ 
tuous enough to expose herself to danger, not 
to keep strict watch over her heart and over 
her senses, from want of humility to cease mis¬ 
trusting herself, and to grow careless in prayer. 
A word, a glance, a desire, a single voluntary 
act of self-complacency, a single deliberate 
thought which is opposed to this virtue, any 
want of modesty, the perusal of a dangerous 
book, a verse of an objectionable song, would 
offend her divine Spouse, and render her 
guilty of a sort of sacrilege, because each 
and all of these things desecrate a heart which 
has been dedicated to Jesus Christ. 

O my children! Brides of Jesus Christ! See 
that you are never unfaithful to Him; remem¬ 
ber that you ought to be holy, living, spotless 
victims, pleasing in the sight of God. Be vic¬ 
tims! Offer yourselves up, present yourselves 
unceasingly to God, in union with the sacrifice 


30 On the Virtues of the Convent. 

of Jesus Christ, who offered Himself up for 
you. 

Be pure victims! Put away every sin; do 
not allow yourselves to fall into the least de¬ 
liberate fault, and for this end keep constant 
watch over your interior. In order to be spot¬ 
less victims, cleanse yourselves frequently in 
the blood of the Lamb of God, which takes 
away sin, and see that you fervently love the 
divine Bridegroom of your souls. There is 
nothing better calculated to purify the heart 
than a fervent love of God. 

You will be truly pleasing to God, and will 
enjoy the greatest happiness which it is pos¬ 
sible to attain in this valley of tears, if you suc¬ 
ceed in acquiring true purity of heart. Jesus 
Christ has said: “ Blessed are the clean of 
heart, for they shall see God ” (Matt. v. 8). 

Let your heart be perfectly pure, that is to 
say, perfectly detached from all which is not 
God. Give yourselves wholly to your Well- 
beloved, as He gives Himself entirely to you; 
do not permit your heart to entertain one 
single desire which is displeasing to Him. In 
all things seek God alone, His honor, His will, 


On the Virtues of the Conve?it. 31 

and the delight of pleasing Him. These are 
the virtues which a nun should strive to attain, 
to preserve, and to increase, if she desires to 
reach perfection, and with this end in view, 
exerts herself as she ought. Each of these vir¬ 
tues includes all the rest. 

Her piety is solid and sincere; her love is 
true and fervent; her detachment is complete 
and universal; her purity of body and soul, 
heart and mind, is perfect and all-embracing. 

Let us now proceed to inquire what ought 
to be the occupations of a perfect religious. 


CHAPTER II. 


ON THE EMPLOYMENTS OF THE CONVENT. 

Jesus Christ said upon one occasion to 
His glorious Mother: “ Did you not know 
that I must be about My Father’s business? ” 
(Luke ii. 49). 

In like manner ought Christian maidens, 
brides of Jesus Christ, to be able to say: “ We 
must always be occupied interiorly with God, 
and exteriorly for God.” 

My dear sisters, occupy yourselves interi¬ 
orly with God by thinking of Him, listening 
to. His voice, and conversing with Him. 

I. OCCUPY YOURSELVES INTERIORLY WITH 
GOD. 

i. In the first place you ought to think of 
Him. God is in us and we are in Him; we 

are in this God, who is Our Creator and Our 
32 


On the Employments of the Convent. 


33 


Benefactor; we are in Him, who is infinitely 
perfect and infinitely worthy of our love. 

And why should not your thoughts be con¬ 
stantly occupied with Him? He is always 
thinking of you, in order that you may be 
sanctified and attain eternal blessedness; ac¬ 
custom yourselves therefore to think of Him, 
in order that you may act in a manner pleasing 
to Him. 

“ Think of Me, and I will think of thee,” 
were the words addressed by Our Lord upon 
one occasion to one of His most favored 
spouses. 

To think of God is the surest means of 
keeping alive in the heart an intense horror 
of sin, and of avoiding even the very least 
faults. It is the best means of encouraging us 
in the practice of every virtue, and of inces¬ 
santly spurring us on to increase in the love 
of God. It will enable us always to do that 
which is pleasing to God, and to attain to the 
degree of perfection which He requires of us. 

In order to walk constantly in the presence 
of God, and to occupy ourselves interiorly 
with Him, we should make it our aim to keep 


34 


On the Employments of the Convent. 


our heart and our mind under due control. 
Let us control our mind, that it may never be 
occupied with vain thoughts nor indulge in 
fanciful imaginations. Nothing is more in¬ 
jurious to real piety, nothing is more calcu¬ 
lated to turn the soul away from God, than to 
allow the mind to permit itself to follow a train 
of thought which does not lead to God, to give 
free rein to the imagination, and not to recall 
it with all speed when it has strayed from the 
right path. 

Our mental powers were bestowed upon us 
in order that we might study aright the char¬ 
acter of God, and thus make ourselves ac¬ 
quainted with His infinite perfections. The 
best way of doing this is to recall to our mind 
what Jesus Christ has taught us in regard to 
God; to this end we should contemplate His 
perfections, the number and nature of the 
benefits He has bestowed upon us, and the 
boundless love He has shown towards us. 

Let us exercise the utmost vigilance, in or¬ 
der to keep our heart under due control! Be¬ 
ware of defiling it by sin. Avoid even the least 
faults, and never commit a single one delib- 


On the Employments of the Convent. 


35 


erately, how trifling soever it may appear in 
your eyes. 

Exercise constant watchfulness over your, 
heart in order to discover anything which is 
not right there, and to purify it without delay. 
Stifle every thought and every feeling which 
might tend to kindle the flame of evil desires. 
Strive to raise your heart to God, to unite it 
with Him, and to pour it forth before Him in 
devout ejaculations. If God is indeed your 
treasure, your heart must truly belong to Him. 

2. Think of God and listen to His voice. 
He frequently speaks to us, but too often we 
fail to understand Him, because we do not lis¬ 
ten to Him aright, nor give heed to His voice. 
He will not fail to speak to you. if you say to 
Him,like the bride in the Canticles: “Let Thy 
voice sound in my ears” (Cant. ii. .14); or 
with the youthful Samuel: “ Speak, Lord, for 
Thy servant heareth ” (1 Kings iii. 10). 
“ Teach me to know Thy will; I seek to know 
it, in order that I may fulfil it. What dost 
Thou wish me to do? I am ready to obey 
Thee.” 

And what will the Lord say to you, if you 


3 6 


On the Employments of the Convent. 


entreat Him to speak with you? He will teach 
you to understand the particular things He re¬ 
quires from each one of you. He will unfold 
to you His merciful designs, in regard to your 
salvation, and the means which it is incumbent 
upon you to employ, with a view to your sanc¬ 
tification. You are aware what you ought to 
avoid and what you ougdit to do, in order to 
please Him and to increase in His love. 
Happy will you be if you are obedient to His 
voice, if you cheerfully anddovhigly make the 
sacrifices which He will ask at your hands. 

What will the Lord communicate to you, if 
you listen when He speaks? 

He will comfort you in your afflictions, and 
help you to bear the crosses which He will 
lay upon you, either as a father to try you, or 
else in order to punish you for some unfaith¬ 
fulness of which you may have been guilty. 
You will learn by experience that He is the 
God of all conso’ation. 

As soon as you have committed faults. He 
will rebuke you as a father does his children. 
He will say: “ What hast thou done ? How 
is this? Hast thou forgotten what T am to 


On the Employments of the Convent. 


37 


thee, and the promises thou hast made to Me? 
Repent, trust in Me, be more faithful in fu¬ 
ture, and thou shalt obtain forgiveness! ” 

If, on the contrary, you correspond to the 
love God has shown to you by enduring pri¬ 
vations and humiliations, by earnestness in 
prayer, what converse will He not hold with 
you, in order to make known to you all the 
fulness of His love ! 

Remember the words He addressed to the 
bride in the Canticles: “Thou hast wounded 
My Heart, My sister, My spouse, thou hast 
wounded My Heart ” (Cant. iv. 9). When He 
thus holds converse with you, you will feel 
that He dwells in you in very deed. What 
sweet peace, what ineffable joy will you not 
then experience! What inward enlightenment 
will you not receive! You will unite yourselves 
so closely to God, that nothing will be able to 
separate you from Him or cause you to turn 
away from Him. 

If there are among you souls which are ani¬ 
mated by the spirit of St. Teresa, and filled 
with love for Jesus Christ, they will enter into 
and understand what I have just said, and will 


38 On the Employments of the Convent . 


be able to add much to it. Why do so many 
souls, who follow the practices of piety, make 
scarcely any progress in perfection? Because 
they do not listen attentively to the voice of 
God. 

He never fails to reply to the voice of the 
heart which desires to know His will, if, after 
having addressed your petitions to Him, you 
wait for His answer in silent expectation. And 
you may rest assured that you will not be un¬ 
der any illusion as to the answer of the Most 
High, if you are careful to communicate it to 
the guide of your soul. 

The seraphic St. Francis said to God: “Who 
art Thou, Lord, and who am I? ” God gra¬ 
ciously heard and answered His servant, and 
then in rapturous admiration at the sight of 
His perfections and of His marvellous love, 
the saint cried out in an ecstasy, “ Thou art 
my God and my All!” 

3. Think of God, listen to His voice, and 
hold converse with Him. 

Frequently converse with Him in a spirit of 
humility and love. Alas! how many persons 
who are consecrated to God apply themselves 


On the Employments of the Convent. 39 

assiduously to prayer both morning and eve¬ 
ning, but do they really pray? True prayer 
consists in loving and confidential intercourse 
with God. Were I to ask the persons to whom 
allusion has just been made, after they had 
finished their meditation: “ You have just 
been conversing with God, tell me what peti¬ 
tions you have addressed to Him; have you 
poured forth in His presence the inmost de¬ 
sires of your heart ? and what answer did He 
vouchsafe to give you ? ” would not many 
among you feel compelled to reply: “ God 
gave me no answer, and I did not address Him 
out of the fulness of my heart. My mind is 
constantly distracted, my heart is barren and 
dry. I have scarcely had one profitable 
thought, or holy inspiration.” Pardon, O my 
God! They find nothing to say, during the 
time they are privileged to hold converse with 
Thee! And alas! those who thus speak are 
souls to which Thou hast shown a very special 
love. Thou hast withdrawn them from the 
world, that they may belong entirely to Thee, 
and be holy and unspotted in Thy sight. Yet 
they know not how to address Thee, when 


40 On the Employments of the Convent. 

they are engaged in mental prayer, when they 
are in Thy holy Temple, where Thou art wait¬ 
ing to bestow upon them the graces they seek 
to obtain from Thee. Pardon them, O my 
God! You actually do not know what to say 
to the Lord your God, while you are engaged 
in mental prayer! You who are so full of 
miseries, and whose needs are so many in num¬ 
ber! Does not a poor man who has not where¬ 
withal to appease the cravings of the hunger 
which is gnawing at his vitals, know what to 
say to a rich man who, as he is aware, is com¬ 
passionate and kind-hearted? Does not a sick 
man, who is enduring acute pain, know what 
to say to a clever and sympathizing physician? 
Does not a child know what to say to his 
father, who loves him with tender affection? 
Yet you know not what to say to God, during 
your times of meditation. Does not this oc¬ 
cur because you have not properly prepared 
the subject of 'your meditation beforehand? 
Does it not occur because you begin this holv 
exercise with a mind distracted by trifles of 
every kind, and omit to deplore as you ought, 
the faint and feeble nature of your love to 


On the Employments of the Convent . 41 

God? If you do not know what to say to God 
in prayer, address Him with confidence in the 
words of the sublime prayer which Jesus 
Christ taught us. Strive to penetrate the 
meaning of each petition and pause to medi¬ 
tate upon each. Meanwhile bear in mind that 
you are holding converse with your heavenly 
Father, and that there is no father like Him. 

Desire that His name may be hallowed, and 
that this great God, who is infinitely worthy 
of all homage, may be fully known by all those 
who are capable of knowing Him, and that He 
may be loved above everything else, by all 
those who have a heart capable of loving Him.' 

Beseech your Father to advance His king¬ 
dom, implore Him earnestly that by means of 
His grace He may reign in you as sovereign 
Lord, and admit you speedily to reign with 
Him in heaven, where you will never offend 
Him any more, but will love Him with a per¬ 
fect love. 

Entreat Him that His most just, most holy, 
most amiable will may be accomplished in 
you, however inscrutable it may of.en be. Tell 
Him that you never desire to have any other 


42 On the Employments of the Convent. 

will but His, and that whatever His pleasure 
may be, it shall be yours also. Ask your 
Father with the simplicity of a child to grant 
you all that is needful both for your body and 
your soul. Place before Him your spiritual 
miseries. Tell Him that you are wretched, 
poor, and blind, that you are destitute of vir¬ 
tue, of strength, of perseverance, and that you 
fervently implore Him to have mercy upon 
you. 

Earnestly beg Him to forgive your sins. 
Have the sins of your youth obtained forgive¬ 
ness? If God has indeed pardoned them, ask 
Him to deliver you more and more from all 
tendency to them. 

Be not astonished at the frequency of the 
temptations which beset you. The enemy of 
your salvation has vowed your destruction. 
Entreat God with ail humility to preserve you 
from giving way to temptation. Regard sin 
as being the greatest of evils, in fact the only 
real evil. Implore Him to free you from it, to 
remove from you the occasions of sin, to pre¬ 
serve you from hell, which your sins have so 
often deserved; also from purgatory, since you 


On the Employments of the Convent. 43 

are willing to do penance while on earth in or¬ 
der to appease His justice. Spouses of Jesus 
Christ, converse frequently and lovingly with 
your divine Bridegroom! He is worthy of all 
admiration. Admire His greatness, His holi¬ 
ness, His goodness, His mercy. Contemplate 
with wonder the love with which He has re¬ 
garded you, and remember that this love is an 
everlasting love. 

Jesus is the Angel of good counsel. Is 
there nothing about which you desire to seek 
His counsel? Ask Him to enlighten you as to 
what you ought to do in order to promote 
His glory, and to be well-pleasing in His 
sight. Ask Him what you ough': to do for 
your own souls, in order that you may make 
rapid progress on the road to heaven. Ask 
Him what you ought to do for others, in order 
to encourage them to serve God with their 
whole heart. 

He is God. When you reflect that you are 
continually in the presence of this great God, 
that He sees and directs your every move¬ 
ment, humble yourselves, prostrate your¬ 
selves, annihilate yourselves in spirit before 


44 On the Employments of the Convent. 

His infinite majesty. Say to Him : “ Lord, 
Thou art supreme and sovereign holiness, and 
I am only a sinful mortal! ” 

He is the mighty God. Acknowledge how 
great your own weakness is and that without 
Him you can do nothing; that without His 
grace you will continually fall into sin, and 
finally lose your soul forever. Implore Him to 
come to your aid and never to abandon you, 
in order that you may triumph over your ene¬ 
mies, work out your salvation, enjoy peace 
here on earth, and at the hour of your death 
enter into possession of the eterna 1 peace and 
blessedness of heaven. 

To think of God, to listen to His voice, and 
to hold converse with Him, are, Christian 
maidens, the means it behooves you to em¬ 
ploy, in order to be constantly occupied in¬ 
teriorly with God, and more especially during 
the hours set apart for prayer, whether vocal 
or mental. 


On the Employments of the Convent . 


45 


II. LET ALL YOUR EXTERIOR OCCUPATIONS 
BE FOR GOD. 

i. Let all your work be for Him. Fulfil the 
office of Mary, whenever you are not obliged 
to engage in that of Martha, in order to acquit 
yourselves of the duties which have been en¬ 
joined upon you. Work for God and for His 
glory, whether you are in the kitchen, the re¬ 
fectory, the school, the church, your own cell, 
or occupied in needlework for the adornment 
of the altar. Cultivate this spirit in every oc¬ 
cupation, even the very meanest; perform it in 
silence and holy recollection, and only speak 
when necessary, from fear of losing your sense 
of the presence of God. A nun who keeps 
silence from this motive, and only speaks 
when she is obliged to do so, striving to make 
God the subject of her conversation, in order 
to incite others to love Him the more, will 
make speedy progress in piety. 

If you can possibly help doing so, do not 
speak during the times of silence. Were you 
to indulge yourselves in talking during these 
times, you would certainly not edify those to 


4 6 


On the Employments of the Convent. 


whom you ought to set a good example; you 
would show yourself to be very poor in virtue, 
and your fault, if allowed to become a habit, 
would do no little harm both to yourself and 
also to others. You have ceased to belong to 
the world, and you ought to be dead to it. 
During recreation, when you are allowed to 
talk, be careful to show that your heart no 
longer clings to the world. 

If you really love God, why do you not then 
speak of Him, or of heavenly things, of your 
vocation, or of the work you do for God? 
People speak gladly about what they love. 

Remember the edifying example set by St. 
Benedict and by his sister, St. Scholastica! St. 
Benedict rarely visited her, and when he did 
so, his compelling motive was divine charity. 
They spoke only of God, and of His Son, Our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Filled with the spirit of 
God, St. Benedict spoke as a man of God, and 
St. Scholastica listened to him with as much 
reverence as if God Himself had been speak¬ 
ing to her. Indeed so anxious was she to hear 
the words which fell from her brother’s lips, 
and kindled in her heart the love of God, that 


On the Employments of the Convent . 47 

in answer to her prayers a very heavy rain 
upon one occasion prevented the saint from 
leaving the convent. God alone was the sub¬ 
ject of their conversation, which lasted all 
night. If we truly loved God, we should de¬ 
light to speak of Him, and to hear Him 
spoken of by others. 

2. Serve God in the observance of the Rule. 
Be most careful to observe every detail of you 
holy Rule. You could do nothing more pleas¬ 
ing to God, or more beneficial to your own 
souls, than to live and act in accordance with 
the Rule which has been laid down for you. 

You must persevere in keeping your Rule. 
Do those who only keep it at particular sea¬ 
sons and on certain days, imagine that they 
are only bound to do the will of God from time 
to time, and not continually? Do they think 
there is a special time when they are permitted 
to cease from serving God? 

You must be scrupulously careful in keep¬ 
ing your Rule: that means, you must observe 
its every detail, both as to the letter and the 
spirit. In the sight of God nothing is insig¬ 
nificant. If you are faithful in small things, 


48 On the Employments of the Convent. 

you will not be unfaithful where great matters 
are concerned, and you will thus acquire for 
yourselves no little merit. 

As a matter of course, I suppose you to 
keep it in the fear of God. By this I mean 
that you observe every point of the Rule from 
supernatural motives, in a spirit of penance, 
with cheerfulness, and from the love of God. 

In communities of persons consecrated to 
God, who are they whom He considers as 
most perfect? Who lay up for themselves 
the richest store of treasure in heaven? Those 
who most closely follow the Rule. 

If you ask me why this is the case I an¬ 
swer, because they are those who do the will 
of God most perfectly: because they are those 
who most frequently offer to God the offering 
which of all others is most pleasing in His 
sight, the sacrifice, namely, of their own will. 

A nun who observes her Rule with great 
perfection is more acceptable to God, and de¬ 
serves an infinitely greater reward, than one 
who observes it less perfectly, even were this 
latter to be endowed with the power of work¬ 
ing miracles. 


On the Employments of the Convent. 


49 


My dear sisters! what can I promise you 
in the name of God, if you are faithful to Him, 
if you constantly think of Him, frequently 
converse with Him, and continually work for 
Him? I can promise you for the remaining 
portion of your life a hundredfold in return 
for all that you have left in order to please 
God, and perfect peace at the approach of 
death: I can promise you a glorious crown in 
heaven, and a chosen place in the abode of 
the blessed for all eternity. 

Amen! 


PART II. 

THE PORTRAIT OF THE PERFECT 
RELIGIOUS. 

INTRODUCTION. 

You wish me, my dear child, to paint for 
you the portrait of a perfect religious; the un¬ 
dertaking' - is, I feel, no easy one; on the con¬ 
trary it is beset with difficulties, but this sha'l 
certainly not deter me from granting your 
request. If I do not succeed, I shall at least 
have the satisfaction of knowing that my in¬ 
tention has been that of benefiting you, and 
I trust that my task will not be performed in 
vain. 

You will read what I write with the pious 
purpose of deriving profit from it. What will 
be the result? God is merciful, and while you 
are reading, He will enlighten your under¬ 
standing, touch your heart, increase your good 
50 


Introduction. 


51 


will; you will lay your hand upon your heart, 
and courageously resolve, even if you have 
nothing wherewith to reproach yourself in the 
past, from this time forth to redouble your 
fervor. What a consolation will not this he 
to me, for you know well how earnestly I de¬ 
sire your sanctification. 

What then is a true nun? I will tell you in 
a very few words: A nun is a living victim. 

She is a victim on account of the number of 
the sacrifices which she has to offer day by 
day to her divine Spouse. She is a living vic¬ 
tim, because she practises heroic virtues. 
Therefore, my dear child, if you wish to be 
really a nun, be a perpetual sacrifice, ever slain, 
yet never ceasing to live; ever living, ever act¬ 
ing, yet always dying. Be ever detached and 
always united; ever separated and detached 
from creatures, always united and bound fast 
to God. There are before us two ends; one, 
between which and ourselves we must place an 
ever-increasing distance, and that is the world; 
another, towards which we must endeavor 
continually to draw nearer, and that is God. 

Hence I propose to give you the portrait 


5 2 


Introduction. 


of a perfect religious from a twofold point of 
view. 

First, I shall depict her under the aspect of 
a victim, and one dead to the world. 

Secondly, I shall portray her to you as one 
living and working for God. 

By contemplating the perfect religious in her 
life of oblation and of mortification, you will 
learn what are the sacrifices which you ought 
continually to offer to your celestial Bride¬ 
groom; and again, by contemplating her in her 
life of energy and activity, you will learn what 
are the virtues you ought daily to practise, if 
you would be acceptable to Him whom you 
are bound to love incomparably more than 
you love yourself. 

§ 1 Concerning the Sacrifices by means of which 
the Perfect Religious makes a Constant Offer¬ 
ing of herself to her Divine Bridegroom. 

These sacrifices are great, my child, they are 
very great. You have already made them, en¬ 
tirely of your own free will, and you do not 
repent having made them, yet they must be 
perpetually renewed. By embracing the re¬ 
ligious state, you have immolated yourself 


Introduction. 


53 


as a victim upon the spiritual altar; the vows 
were the sword with which you were slain. 

And in what place did you make these sol¬ 
emn promises, by means of which you immo¬ 
lated yourself ? In the temple of God, before 
His altar, in the sight of the angels, in the 
presence of Jesus Christ. He it is who re¬ 
ceived your vows; the ordained minister, who 
is His representative, told you plainly to what 
you were about to pledge yourself; the pros¬ 
pect, far from saddening you, filled you with 
joy. With a glad heart you made these sol¬ 
emn promises during the time of Holy Mass, 
and, so to speak, signed them with the blood 
of the Lamb of God. 

Hence it follows, that you are no longer 
your own, but must regard yourself solely in 
the light of a victim. Therefore see that you 
die daily, my child; let the state of death be 
your normal condition. One who desires to 
be a true nun must be ever in this state. 

But in regard to what must a perfect relig¬ 
ious thus consider herself to be dead? She is 
dead to the world; her grave is the solitude into 
which God has been pleased to lead her. She 


54 


Introduction. 


is dead to all the good things which fortune 
can bestow; her riches consist in poverty. 

She is dead to her own will; her glory is in 
obedience. 

She is dead to the pleasant things of life; 
her delight is in mortification. O spouse of 
Jesus Christ! be ready and willing to be sac¬ 
rificed! Offer yourself as a victim upon the 
altar of solitude; consider it a happy thing if 
you can remain there, as in a place of refuge. 

Offer yourself as a victim upon the altar of 
poverty; love it as a precious treasure. 

Offer yourself as a victim upon the altar of 
obedience; let it be your guardian and pro¬ 
tector, embrace it as such. 

Offer yourself, finally, as a victim upon the 
altar of mortification; may it alone possess 
any attraction for you. 

These are the four principal sacrifices which 
God asks at your hands; they include within 
themselves all the rest, and you must offer 
them unceasingly. I will now proceed to ex¬ 
plain for what reason and in what manner you 
must do this. 


CHAPTER I. 


THE PERFECT RELIGIOUS IS A WILLING VICTIM 
UPON THE ALTAR OF SOLITUDE. 

She keeps herself in the background, she 
observes the hours of silence, she preserves 
a spirit of recollection. This, my dear child, is 
what you ought to do! You ought to count 
yourself fortunate indeed, since you dwell in a 
community where a love of silence prevails; 
praise God a hundred times a day for having 
bestowed this favor upon you. Alas! into how 
large a number of convents has a lack of fer¬ 
vor gradually crept. In such convents the 
spirit of their holy founders is no longer to be 
perceived. 

And what has caused this lamentable 
change? Intercourse with seculars, neglect of 
silence, desire for distraction. 

55 


56 The Perfect Religious is-a Willing Victim 

I. 

In order to reform those communities, 
which so little resemble what a convent ought 
to be, it would be sufficient to introduce again 
the love of silence which has been banished 
from their midst. 

What an important service would be ren¬ 
dered, both to religious in the first place, and 
also to the Church in general, by those who 
should show themselves willing to labor for 
this end. 

Let me urge upon you then, my child, to 
cultivate a love of retirement and seclusion; 
take delight in it, avoid going to the parlor 
as far as possible, and only repair thither when 
compelled to do so. The pious author of the 
“ Imitation of Christ ” says: “ As often as I 
have been among men, I have returned less a 
man ” (Imit., Book I. chap. xx.). This was 
on account of the various conversations in 
which he had engaged with one person or an¬ 
other. It is to be feared that many nuns, on 
leaving the parlor, feel less disposed to fulfil 
their duties aright than they were when they 


Upo?i the Altar of Solitude. 57 

entered it. The spirit of the world is so subtle 
and so insidious; it creeps into the heart and 
does its evil work before one is aware of the 
fact. It then becomes extremely difficult to 
resist its influence, and still more difficult to 
expel it altogether. In order that intercourse 
with seculars may not prove injurious to you, 
take the precaution of repeating, from the very 
bottom of your heart, a short prayer before 
you enter the parlor. Restrain the natural 
eagerness which you may perhaps feel when 
you are summoned thither; ask God to pre¬ 
serve you from seeking your own gratification 
alone, stand on your guard, beg God to aid 
and assist you, but do not pray only for your¬ 
self, pray also for those with whom, from a 
sense of duty, or some other necessary cause, 
you are about to converse. 

While you remain in the parlor, keep guard 
over your eyes, your tongue, and above all, 
your heart. Ask no questions calculated to 
show that your memory still clings to the 
world; speak and act in such a manner that 
your words and your whole bearing may be 
productive of edification. 


5 8 The Perfect Religious is a Willing Victim 

There are some nuns who complain that it 
is a long time since any one has been to see 
them, and who make their visitors promise to 
come more often in future, and strive to pro¬ 
long as much as possible the time appointed 
to be spent with them. I only wish such nuns 
could hear the remarks made about them by 
the people who had just taken leave of them; 
they would feel heartily ashamed, and resolve 
to amend. 

I feel sure, my child, that you will not imi¬ 
tate them. Time is so precious; abbreviate 
these interviews therefore, as far as politeness 
and good manners permit; yield yourself up 
to the guidance of the unseen hand, which 
would fain lead you back to your cell. 

It is easy for a nun who wishes to leave the 
parlor, to find some good reason for doing so, 
and to make this plain to her visitors. When 
they have quitted her presence, they will say, 
in regard to her, that she truly possesses the 
spirit which is suited to her state of life. 

If, however, in spite of all your precautions, 
you are conscious of having committed some . 
fault, do not be discouraged on that account. 


Upon the Altar of Solitude. 


59 


God is a loving Father, cast yourself into the 
arms of His mercy; your faults will be readily 
forgiven, and will teach you to be more care¬ 
ful in future; they will, moreover, furnish you 
with a motive for appreciating more thor¬ 
oughly than ever the benefits of solitude. 

Do not let your thoughts dwell too much 
on any news you may have heard in the par¬ 
lor. Beware also of repeating to your sisters 
in religion anything which is not of an .edify¬ 
ing description. 


II. 

What should, in the second place, make a 
nun a living holocaust on the altar of solitude, 
is exactitude in the observance of silence; see 
that you keep it perseveringly; never break it 
except in cases when your Rule permits you 
to do so. 

It may appear to you a matter of no conse¬ 
quence to say a few words in an undertone 
during the hours of silence; but it is, believe 
me, a more important thing than you imagine. 

Alas, my child, if you only knew to what 
fatal results this infringement of the Rule may 


6 o The Perfect Religious is a Willing Victim 

lead, and in fact too often has led, especially 
in cases where it has been of frequent recur¬ 
rence, you would make the firmest possible 
resolutions on this head. 

I was deeply impressed by what I heard 
the abbot of the monastery of Sept Fonds re¬ 
late in regard to the subject of silence. 

I have had opportunities of repeating it to 
members of various communities, but I wish 
that all nuns all over the world could hear it 
also. It is about fourteen years since I had oc¬ 
casion to pay a visit to this monastery, which 
contains more than a hundred monks, all of 
whom resemble angels rather than men. I 
one day expressed to the abbot my surprise 
that the walls of the house were not of more 
solid construction, as it had been erected 
a very long time ago. The reason of this, he 
told me, was that the founder desired to build 
in such a manner that the monastery should 
only last sixty years. He was of opinion that 
laxity and tepidity are only too apt to creep 
into the best-ordered communities before they 
have been established for a period of sixty 
years, and he did not wish his monastery to 


Upon the Altar of Solitude. 


61 

continue to stand, if the primitive fervor de¬ 
parted and the Rule ceased to be strictly ob¬ 
served. “ But,” added the abbot, “ what has 
really happened ? The careful adherence to 
the Rule has never been relaxed, and for this 
we have chiefly to thank the habit of silence, 
which was so earnestly enjoined upon us, and 
from which we have never deviated. It would 
be an evil day for us, if the monks ceased to 
keep up this practice; for then the observance 
of the Rule would ere long come to an end! ” 

Silence was observed in this house with 
such exactitude that several years were some¬ 
times known to pass without any one of its 
inmates having committed a breach of the 
Rule in this respect. 

I was myself a witness of the great exactness 
to which I have just referred. A brother, 
whose duty it was to wait upon guests, had, 
in the course of a couple of days, numerous 
questions addressed to him, but he only an¬ 
swered by signs. Some of the visitors made 
fun of him on this account, abused him, and 
even went so far as to strike him, in order to 
put his virtue to a still severer test. Yet it was 


6 2 The Per feci Religious is a Willing Victim 

all in vain; not one single word could be wrung 
from him. 

The guest-master told us afterwards, when 
I was speaking to him about the admirable 
conduct of the brother, that if he had made 
* any, even the briefest answer to the in¬ 
quiries of the visitors, he would have had a 
severe penance imposed upon him, to last a 
week. A repetition of the same fault would 
be followed by dismissal, as he had not yet 
taken his vows. 

Lay this well to heart, my dear child! A 
community in which the law of silence is not 
carefully kept, must be grievously lacking in 
fervor, and will, it is to be feared, rapidly de¬ 
generate. I wish you to remark* that breaches 
of the Rule in regard to silence differ from 
other faults. 

These latter may be hidden, and therefore 
not set a bad example, but the former are open 
and manifest. The person to whom one speaks 
may not have sufficient virtue to abstain from 
making any reply. At first perhaps she only 
answers from a feeling of timidity, or from a 
dread of being considered scrupulous; but, as 


Upon the Altar of Solitude. 63 

time goes on, she will converse just as freely 
with others as she was conversed with in the 
first instance. A nun who breaks the Rule of 
silence, except, of course, in cases when she 
has received permission to speak, would not 
thus act if she greatly desired to attain per¬ 
fection, if she were not unmortified in heart. 

And of what do those speak who talk at 
times when the Rule prescribes silence? They 
often converse upon subjects which it would 
be highly undesirable to introduce even at 
those seasons when talking is permissible. 
The more strictly and faithfully you keep si¬ 
lence, the more will holy thoughts present 
themselves to your mind during your religious 
exercises, the more will God dwell within you, 
the more peaceful and contented will you be¬ 
come. What satisfaction you will feel when 
evening comes, if your conscience bears wit¬ 
ness that you have not uttered one superfluous 
word throughout the day, because you were 
desirous of pleasing your divine Spouse. O, 
how happily you will fall asleep in the peace 
of the Lord ! I do not doubt that this has 
already been your experience; but there are 


6 \ The Perfect Religious is a Willing Victim 

many nuns who, after years of convent life, 
could not recall a single day during which they 
have rigidly observed the hours of silence. It 
is of course impossible for them to enjoy the 
peace and satisfaction of which I have just 
spoken. 

Therefore, at whatever cost, see that you 
punctually keep silence at the appointed 
hours; show your sisters in religion that 
those are mistaken who assert that all women 
have such an intense longing to talk that it is 
a sheer impossibility for them to remain silent. 
A faithful observance of the Rule in regard to 
silence will render it comparatively easy for 
you to live in a spirit of recollection. 

III. 

Live in a recollected spirit; for what would 
the mere fact of being alone avail you if this 
solitude were not accompanied by that of the 
mind and heart? You must, so to speak, erect 
a hermitage within you, in which you must 
continually dwell. You are the temple of God, 
and if you wish to abide with Him, vou must 


Upon the Altar of Solitude . 65 

not leave this temple. Let your occupation 
be to cleanse and adorn your heart in order 
that the Lord may find therein nothing to dis¬ 
please Him, but much, on the contrary, cal¬ 
culated to please Him. Thus will He rule 
there as absolute Sovereign over all the pow¬ 
ers of your soul. 

Remain constantly united to Him by think¬ 
ing of Him. He says to you as He did to a 
saint of old: “Think of Me, and I will think 
of thee.” Remain constantly united to Him 
by means of pious ejaculations, offer Him un¬ 
ceasing homage, continually strive to serve 
Him, and to attain to a more complete union 
with Him. Tell Him how true and real is 
your love for Him, and that your desire is to 
love Him with an infinite love. 

Endeavor to preserve a spirit of recollection 
at all times and in all places. The Lord is ever 
with you; try to maintain an unbroken and 
affectionate intercourse with Him. 

Let those around you remark at seasons of 
recreation and amid your most engrossing oc¬ 
cupations that you walk in the presence of 
God, that He is Lord of your heart, and that 


66 The Perfect Religious is a Willing Victim 

He has granted you to taste the sweetness of 
His light and easy yoke. 

Be so recollected that if at any moment of 
the day it were said to you: “ Lift up your 
heart to the Lord! ” you could reply with 
truth, “ I constantly think of Him, my heart 
is ever with Him! ” 

Well do I know the natural fickleness of 
the human mind, and how easily the imagina¬ 
tion of man leads him away from God. What 
therefore ought you to do, if you become 
aware that during a considerable space of time 
you have ceased to occupy yourself with 
thoughts of God? I would advise you to act 
in the following manner: Long after heaven, 
where it is impossible for the saints ever to for¬ 
get God; return to the solitude of your own 
heart, which you have quitted; say to God: 
“ I am coming back to Thee; in Thy presence 
alone is true joy to be found; bind me firmly 
to Thee, so that during the remainder of this 
day I may not again wander from Thee, even 
in thought ; unite me closely to Thyself in the 
bonds of love.” How profitable is this recol¬ 
lection of mind! As long as you live in this 


Upon the Altar of Solitude. 67 

spirit you will never willingly offend God; you 
will guard against the temptations of the 
enemy of your soul, and will courageously re¬ 
sist them; you will strive to sanctify all your 
occupations, and to make even the meanest 
employment a means of gaining merit; you- 
will attain perfection according to your state, 
and in this miserable world you will often be 
permitted to enjoy a foretaste of the joys of 
heaven. And when this life is ended, what 
will paradise prove to be? God a 1 one knows 
the nature of the ineffable joys which are laid 
up for the elect! 

Address the accompanying prayer to God 
before you pass on to another chapter: 

A Prayer for Grace to Obtain a Spirit of Recol¬ 
lection and a Love of Solitude. 

O Jesus, my celestial Bridegroom! I render 
Thee a thousand thanks for having chosen me 
to be Thy spouse. Happy indeed do I count 
myself for having left the world where Thou 
art ignored, unworthily treated, and too often 
grievously offended. O blessed solitude, in 
which alone I find true happiness! I will praise 


68 The Perfect Religious a Willing Victim. 

Thee, Lord, until my latest breath, that out of 
love to Thee I too am dead, that I am buried 
with Thee. 

O Jesus! when Thou didst speak, it was only 
in order to promote the glory of Thy heavenly 
Father; grant me therefore a love of silence; 
do Thou Thyself inspire my tongue at the 
times when I am permitted to speak. I ear¬ 
nestly entreat Thee to grant me grace to pre¬ 
serve a constant spirit of recollection; I desire 
to perform all my actions as if in Thy presence, 
in union with Thee alone, with the sole desire 
of treading in Thy footsteps and of pleasing 
Thee. I implore Thee to grant me this grace 
through the intercession of my dearest Mother 
Mary! 


CHAPTER II. 


THE PERFECT RELIGIOUS IS A WILLING VICTIM 
UPON THE ALTAR OF POVERTY. 

The perfect religious both prizes and prac¬ 
tises evangelical poverty. How well does this 
virtue merit our esteem! It enables ns to de¬ 
spise earthly things, it frees us from attachment 
to the world, it enables us to direct all our 
thoughts to heaven, and makes it easy for us 
to fix them upon God. Upon this virtue true 
perfection is founded; it is the hidden treasure 
spoken of in the Gospel, and this treasure is 
so precious that all one may give to obtain it 
is as nothing in comparison with it. 

Ought not this virtue to appear most attract¬ 
ive to you, my dear child ? Jesus Christ, your 
heavenly Bridegroom, chose poverty for Him¬ 
self. He was rich and became poor; all things 

69 


70 The Perfect Religious is a Willing Victim 

belonged to Him, and He made Himself poor 
beyond all measure. 

Call to remembrance what you have read 
in the Gospel. Jesus was born in a stable, des¬ 
titute of everything; He lived in constant 
poverty and privation; He died stripped of all 
things, even of His very garments. By the 
practice of poverty you will resemble Jesus, 
your beloved Master and Lord. Happy in¬ 
deed are you if you are as truly poor as you 
promised to become! Then do you literally 
follow the evangelical counsels; and the pov¬ 
erty you profess entitles you to say to Jesus 
Christ as did His apostles: “ Behold, we have 
left all things and have followed Thee; what 
therefore shall we have? ” (Matt. xix. 27.) 

The recompense which Jesus Christ prom¬ 
ises you is great indeed: you will receive in 
this life a hundredfold for all which you have 
left for His sake, and after your death eternal 
blessedness will be your portion; He who has 
made these promises is Truth itself. 

It is difficult for those who are in the pos¬ 
session of wealth to avoid becoming attached 
to their riches or making a bad use of them, 


Upon the Altar of Poverty., 


7 * 


and the thought of having done this proves a 
fruitful source of bitter remorse at the hour of 
death. 

How far different is the lot of a pious soul 
who has been faithful to her vow! The volun¬ 
tary sacrifice she made of her transitory pos¬ 
sessions was the means of causing her con¬ 
stantly to offer other and yet more heroic sac¬ 
rifices; she well knows that the Lord, who is 
both just and generous, will not fail to observe 
her actions. She will grow rich in virtue and 
merit, and will die in peace and tranquillity. 
What a powerful motive is this to induce you 
to practise, perfectly and perseveringly, the 
poverty which you embraced in a spirit of 
love! 

Strive therefore to live in such poverty that 
you may have nothing to leave when the day 
comes, as come it must for all, when every one 
is compelled to resign whatever possessions he 
may have. 

Do not resemble so many nuns who are 
only poor because in reality they have nothing 
to call their own, but who do not cease to be 
rich, because they crave after the good things 


72 The Perfect Religious is a Willing Victim 

which they do not possess. Such poverty is 
valueless, and would deprive you of the graces 
which attend upon voluntary poverty. God 
reads the heart, and rewards or punishes ac¬ 
cording to the dispositions He perceives there. 
Do not rest satisfied with having nothing of 
your own, but avoid attaching yourself to any¬ 
thing you may use, and always be ready to 
give it up. 

Take poverty for your inseparable com¬ 
panion; it ought to be the ornament of your 
cell and the adornment of your garments. 

Take the food set before you as rf you were 
receiving an alms, and however poor and un¬ 
inviting it may be, consider that you do not 
deserve even what is given to you. 

Consider yourself fortunate if you are even 
worse treated than the ordinary poor. Nuns 
who possess the spirit of poverty in the highest 
degree rejoice if they are sometimes obliged 
to forego even necessaries. Endeavor to imi¬ 
tate them! 

Into what irregularities might you not fall 
were you to imitate certain nuns who are un¬ 
worthy of the name, since they are never con - 


Upon the Attar of Poverty . 


73 


tent unless all their humors and caprices arc 
carefully studied! 

If a habit which others have already worn 
is given to them, if a cell which they do not 
like is assigned to them, if the dowry they 
brought to the convent, or the interest of it, is 
spent upon good works, they at once forget 
that their superior stands to them in the place 
of God; they begin to grumble and complain. 

Be careful, my child, always to bear in mind 
that every one who has pledged herself to be 
poor has also pledged herself to suffer. 

Think of the poor! They are badly clothed, 
badly fed, badly housed, and are frequently ex¬ 
posed to all the inclemency of the weather. 

Thus you, who have voluntarily made your- • 
self poor, have every right to complain if you 
have nothing to suffer from poverty. 

The vow of poverty rendered you incapable 
of possessing anything of your own; appro¬ 
priate nothing therefore without having first 
asked and obtained leave to do so, and even 
then regard what has been given you as if it 
did not really belong to you! Poverty has de¬ 
prived you of everything ! Let this considera- 


74 The Perfect Religious is a Willing Victim 

tion remind you that it is not in your power 
to give anything away. 

If I were to say to you, “ Never think of 
making any present/’ it might appear a little 
over-strict; but I do say, “Never think of mak¬ 
ing a valuable present, and before making even 
the most trifling gift, ask leave to do so.” If 
the permission is granted without any restric¬ 
tion, strive to sanctify your little offering by 
bestowing it from supernatural motives. 

Yet once again, my dear child, I must re¬ 
peat that you have nothing to give. Since you 
took the vow of poverty nothing is your own; 
even your heart no longer belongs to you, for 
you have given it to God. Renew this offer¬ 
ing day by day; you can do nothing more 
pleasing to your divine Spouse. 

A Prayer for Grace to Love Poverty and 
Practice it as Perfectly as Possible. 

O Jesus! my divine Master, Thou didst 
choose to be poor, poor beyond all measure. 
For love of me, in order that I might be made 
rich, didst Thou embrace the state of poverty. 
Can I then refuse to lead a life of poverty in 


Upon the Altar of Poverty. 75 

imitation of Thy example? Has not the sight 
of Him who was both God and man hanging 
upon the cross, destitute of all things, power 
to detach me from the goods of earth? 

Never permit me, O my God, to be so un¬ 
happy as to deceive myself in regard to this 
vow of poverty. Infuse into my heart a fer¬ 
vent love of this virtue, that nothing may be 
found therein which is inconsistent with the 
spirit of the most extreme poverty. Thou art 
my treasure, Thou alone art sufficient for me. 
I entreat Thee through the intercession of 
Mary to grant me the grace to desire and to 
possess nothing except Thyself both in time 
and throughout eternity. 


CHAPTER III. 

THE PERFECT RELIGIOUS IS A WILLING VICTIM 
UPON THE ALTAR OF OBEDIENCE. 

A nun who has the true spirit of her voca¬ 
tion delights to obey, and obeys continually. 
I wish, my child, that you could understand 
aright the necessity and the value of obedi¬ 
ence! 

Jesus Christ became obedient even unto 
death, and He invites you to follow in His 
footsteps. The path of obedience is the path 
of safety; and in this path alone, which He 
trod before you, is salvation to be found. 

If you were only united to Jesus Christ in 
the sense in which every Christian is united 
to Him, you would not be exempt from the 
practice of obedience; for the disciples of the 
Saviour must resemble their Master and 

Model; they must imitate Him if thev wish 
76 


The Perfect Religious a Willing Victim. 77 

to save their souls. But what is your case? 
Are you not united to Jesus Christ by yet 
stronger bonds? You have dedicated your¬ 
self to Him by means of a solemn promise; 
and if you refuse to obey, you thereby assert 
that you no longer desire to belong to Him. 
All good works which are performed contrary 
to obedience cease to be good works. With¬ 
out obedience your prayers and penances can¬ 
not be pleasing to God. He desires the sacri¬ 
fice of your will, and by means of obedience it ♦ 
is offered up to Him. Had you power to work 
miracles I should regard your piety with sus¬ 
picion if you failed in the practice of obedi¬ 
ence. Therefore I most earnestly entreat you 
never to suffer your feet to stray from the path 
of obedience; every step you take in a con¬ 
trary direction will cause you to fall. You 
often say that you wish to sanctify yourself 
and to save your soul, and you ask how this 
is to be accomplished. I answer you in a single 
word: Obey! Obey! Of how many sins are 
not the sources dried up by the practice of 
obedience? Some act of disobedience pre¬ 
cedes every sin, and an obedient soul is gen- 


78 The Perfect Religious is a Willing Victim 

erally free from sin. Obey! Reflect how many 
virtues you will thus obtain, for obedience con¬ 
tains within itself all other virtues, and is, so 
to speak, their guardian and their parent. 
Obey! You will thus speedily attain to the 
perfection of your state. If the religious life 
has been so great a source of edification to the 
Church, if it has given to heaven so many 
saints, it is because a more comprehensive and 
more perfect obedience is observed there than 
anywhere else. 

Obey ! you will then be ever content; you 
will constantly enjoy that peace which is be¬ 
yond all price, and which souls who do not 
conform to the will of God can never experi¬ 
ence; for it is especially obedience which gains 
for you the privilege of knowing God as the 
God of all consolation. 

Strive therefore to practise obedience at all 
times, in all places, and in all things; for I 
cannot suppose, indeed it is impossible to sup¬ 
pose, that anything will be commanded you 
which is contrary to the holy law of God. 

If you obey in this manner, even your most 
trifling actions will acquire for you merit, and 


Upon the Altar of Obe die rite. 


79 


will be pleasing in the sight of your celestial 
Spouse; they will be inscribed in the pages of 
the book of life, and each one of them will re¬ 
ceive an eternal reward. What an incentive 
is this to induce you to practise obedience, and 
to practise it cheerfully from supernatural mo¬ 
tives! For it can only deserve a recompense 
when it is performed with the view of pleasing 
God. 

But what must you do in order that you 
may be enabled to persevere in this path of 
obedience? You must do two things. In the 
first place, you must firmly be'ieve that Jesus 
Christ is constantly to be seen in the person of 
your superior; she is His image, she fi ls His 
place, He speaks to you through her mouth, 
it is His will which she declares to you; there¬ 
fore receive her orders as if they were the com¬ 
mands of Him whose representative she is! 

In the second place, cultivate a spirit of ab¬ 
solute indifference in regard to the occupa¬ 
tions which may be assigned you. For the 
lack of this spirit constitutes a reck upon 
which many a nun makes shipwreck of her 
vocation. 


80 The Perfect Religious is a Willing Victim 

It is lamentable to see how large is the num¬ 
ber of those who, until this test is applied to 
them, find no difficulty in obeying! They ap¬ 
pear to make rapid progress in the path of 
perfection, but no sooner is some distasteful 
occupation assigned to them than it becomes 
at once apparent what they really are, espe¬ 
cially if some one whom they do not like is ap¬ 
pointed to help them. Then they lose their 
peace of mind, they murmur and complain, 
and almost every one around them has to 
suffer from their bad temper. 

Alas! what sort of virtue is this? Let who¬ 
ever will admire it, but for my own part I shall 
always think and speak as do all the masters 
of the spiritual life, when they assert that the 
virtue of all those persons who, instead of be¬ 
ing dead to their own will, cling tenaciously to 
it, is a poor and imperfect virtue. 

Prove therefore that you share their senti¬ 
ments by cultivating a feeling of perfect in¬ 
difference in regard to every kind of occupa¬ 
tion. How happy will this feeling make you, 
how easy it will render the practice of obedi¬ 
ence, how much that is pleasant it will prepare 


Upon the Altar of Obedience . 81 

for you, how swiftly and how exactly it will 
enable you to obey! You will not delay, were 
it only for an instant, to execute any com¬ 
mand which may be laid upon you; nay, more, 
if it were possible, your obedient spirit would 
anticipate the command. This holy indiffer¬ 
ence will enable you to obey not with diffi¬ 
culty and out of human respect, but without 
constraint, without sadness, cheerfully and 
lovingly, with a view to please God. 

This evenness of mind will enable you to 
obey when it is difficult as well as when it is 
easy, when you are alone as well as when you 
are in the company of others. You will render 
an equally perfect obedience to 'superiors for 
whom you have not voted as to those whom 
you have gladly helped to elect. 

Be careful, my child, to remember all which 
has just been said, and prefer rather to lose 
your life than to stray from the path of obedi¬ 
ence. Once more I repeat: you have taken 
a vow of obedience, and you must be ready to 
carry it out, whatever this may cost you! 


82 The Perfect Religious a Willing Victim. 


A Prayer for Grace to Yield Willing Obedience 
in all Things. 

O my Redeemer! how ready, how constant, 
how generous, how persevering was Thy 
obedience! I will take Thee for my model; I 
will obey from love of Thee, and as Thou didst 
obey. Precious beyond measure are the fruits 
of obedience ; those who practise it acquire 
great merits, they are in no danger of straying 
from the right path, and are filled with Thy 
ineffable consolations. But what appeals most 
strongly to my heart is the thought that if I 
obey out of love to Thee, I shall have the in¬ 
estimable happiness of pleasing Thee. Grant, 
O my God, that my every action may be an 
act of obedience; I earnestly implore this grace 
of Thee through the intercession of Mary! 


CHAPTER IV. 

THE PERFECT RELIGIOUS IS A WILLING VICTIM 
UPON THE ALTAR OF MORTIFICATION. 

The virtue of mortification has for its ob¬ 
ject the subjugation of the flesh by means of 
suffering and self-denial, in order that the soul, 
freed from the dominion of the passions, may 
soar aloft to God without let or hindrance and 
be united to Him. 

Without this virtue you can be no true 
Christian; how can you be a perfect religious? 
Behold Jesus Christ, our Model and our Mas¬ 
ter; did He not practise mortification, and has 
He not enjoined upon us to do the same? Enter 
the stable where He was born, follow Him 
throughout the whole course of His mortal life, 
climb with Him the Mount of Calvary; every¬ 
where do you behold Him as the Man of Sor¬ 
rows. Should we not indeed have cause to 
blush were we unmortified members of a 
thorn-crowned Head? 

You have undertaken to become a perfect 
83 


84 The Perfect Religious is a Willing Victim 

Christian, and what does the Gospel tell you? 
Its teaching is comprised in a very few words: 
Do violence to yourself, renounce yourself, 
abhor yourself, crucify yourself, bring your 
body into subjection, walk in the narrow way, 
carry your cross, if you would be a follower of 
Jesus Christ. 

All this means, in the language of the saints: 
Mortify yourself! You must mortify yourself 
if you desire to conquer yourself. The path 
of mortification leads to the kingdom of 
heaven. Since we must carry our cross day 
by day, and strive to gain heaven, we must 
live in the daily practice of mortification. Re¬ 
gard therefore the day as ill-spent during 
which you have performed no act of this 
virtue. 

O my dear child! how greatly does a love 
of mortification aid a nun in the faithful dis¬ 
charge of her duties! Want of mortification 
is a hindrance to advancement in the spiritual 
life and the source of a thousand evils. Hate 
your body, treat it as a contemptible slave, and 
you will be exact in the observance of even 
the minutest things prescribed by your Rule. 


Upon the Altar of Mortification. 85 

Nothing will seem difficult to you; you will 
advance from virtue to virtue. 

I recommend to you above all else the mor¬ 
tification of both your interior and exterior 
senses. So many religious press their su¬ 
perior or their director to allow them to prac¬ 
tise this or that great external mortification, 
while they do not attempt to restrain their 
senses, and scarcely know what it means 
to go contrary to nature. Beware of the de¬ 
lusion into which these souls fall; begin by 
fulfilling your duties as perfectly as possible. 
By so doing you will obtain grace to perform 
at a later period to the profit of your soul, that 
which lies beyond the limit of bare duty. 

The progress, however, which you make in 
this virtue is not to be measured by certain 
austerities that you may practise for a time, but 
rather by your fidelity in doing all that is en¬ 
joined upon you. Examine your own heart 
and you will understand that any one who is 
exact in accomplishing everything which she 
is bound to do must necessarily possess the 
spirit of mortification in a high degree. And 
inasmuch as the nun who is truly mortified 


86 The Perfect Religious is a Willing Victim 

finds in the conscientious discharge of her or¬ 
dinary duties solid grounds for hope, so, on 
the other hand, one who is unmortified finds 
therein cause for grave apprehension. She 
brings to her spiritual exercises a mind dis¬ 
tracted, a cold heart, a soul ill at ease. Hence 
it comes to pass that she hears Mass without 
attention or devotion, that her confessions are 
without preparation, without compunction, 
without purpose of amendment, that her com¬ 
munions are without charity, without fervor. » 
Thus it may happen that religious may in¬ 
crease their own condemnation by the misuse 
of the very means which might have been their 
salvation. / 

And now I will place before you yet another 
motive for the practice of mortification; it may 
have a beneficial effect upon you. The lily of 
purity only grows and flourishes amid the 
thorns of mortification; if you desire to love 
the former, the latter must be likewise dear to 
you. You have taken a vow of chastity, you 
are the bride of Jesus Christ, the spotless 
Lamb of God; the more mortified you are, 
the more chaste will you become. 


Upon the Altar of Mortification. 87 

A Prayer for Grace to Obtain a Spirit of Morti¬ 
fication and to Excel in the Virtue of Purity. 

O Jesus! Thou wast ever innocent, and 
Thou didst never cease to suffer. 

Even if I had never sinned, ought I not to 
lead a life of mortification? But, alas! of how 
many offences have I not been guilty? I bit¬ 
terly repent of them, and will strive to expiate 
them more and more through the constant 
practice of mortification. Thou knowest, O 
Lord, that I would rather die than lose the 
precious virtue of purity. Grant me, therefore, 
a spirit of mortification, without which it is 
not possible to remain chaste. 

Grant, O spotless Lamb! that since Thou 
hast chosen me to be Thy bride, that I may 
by my purity merit the grace of following 
Thee whithersoever Thou goest. Thou art a 
jealous Bridegroom; therefore in order to 
please Thee I will refrain from every action, 
every word, every glance, every gesture, every 
desire, every thought which might be displeas¬ 
ing in Thy sight, who art infinite purity. 

O Mary, Virgin most pure, pray for me! 


§ II. On the Virtues which a Perfect Religious 
Ought Constantly to Practise, in order to 
please her Divine Bridegroom. 

It is not sufficient that a nun should cleanse 
herself from everything which might be dis¬ 
pleasing to her divine Bridegroom by offering 
to Him the sacrifices of which I have just 
spoken; she must also adorn her soul with 
virtues. My present intention is to address 
you upon the subject of these virtues. 

You have different duties to fulfil with re¬ 
gard to the relation in which you respectively 
stand to God, to the Rule of your Order, to 
your fellow-religious, and, finally, to your 
own soul. 

Your duty to God requires of you piety, 
tender, heartfelt piety; your duty to the Rule 
of your Order fidelity, perfect, unvarying 
fidelity; your duty to your fellow-religious 
charity, all-embracing charity; finally, in re¬ 
gard to what you are yourself, your dis¬ 
tinguishing feature should be humility. Prac¬ 
tise these four virtues as perfectly as you can, 
and you will have fulfilled all your duties, and 
will be in very deed a perfect religious. 


CHAPTER I. 


ON THE TENDER PIETY WHICH THE TRUE 
RELIGIOUS OUGHT EVER TO FEEL TOW¬ 
ARDS GOD. 

Tender piety consists in performing all 
your religious exercises with fervor and with 
love. 

This virtue presupposes that we love God, 
that we feel how entirely we belong to Him, 
that we are deeply impressed by the contem¬ 
plation of His perfections, and especially of 
His infinite mercy. This tender piety ought 
to accompany you in all your spiritual exer¬ 
cises, when you engage in prayer, when you 
recite Holy Office, when you approach the 
sacraments. O, what treasures of graces and 
merits will you not gain if you are constantly 
animated by this virtue! 

Happy is the devout soul who performs her 
prayers in this spirit of piety. She applies her- 

89 


go The Tender Piety of the True Religious. 

self to prayer with a holy eagerness. She says 
to herself, “ Now I am about to occupy my¬ 
self as do the angels and the saints; nay, more, 
as Jesus Christ Himself does, both in heaven 
and in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Al¬ 
tar. I will hold converse with God as an affec¬ 
tionate child does with a beloved father. I 
will speak with Him in the firm conviction 
that He will hear and answer me; I will offer 
Him my homage. He will graciously deign 
to accept it; I will lay my cares and sorrows 
before Him, and He will not suffer them to 
remain unheeded.” 

This devout soul dreads to become a prey 
to distractions, and for this reason she ban¬ 
ishes everything from her mind which might 
tend to diminish her fervor; she abandons her¬ 
self to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and 
humbly beseeches her divine Spouse to assist 
her constantly with His grace. 

At the seasons when this pious nun is en¬ 
gaged in prayer, her bearing while in the spe¬ 
cial presence of God is characterized by the 
same modesty and recollection which one 
would admire in an angel, were he clothed in 


The Tender Piety of the True Religious, 91 

a mortal body. If it were possible to read her 
heart, and observe the workings of her soul, 
one would imagine her to be already in 
heaven. 

If her mind, from human frailty, occasion¬ 
ally wanders, she recalls it as soon as she be¬ 
comes aware of the fact; she humbles herself 
without losing courage, and strives to rekindle 
the fire of her fervor. She pours forth her 
soul in pious ejaculations, so that her prayer 
becomes one continuous act of love and adora¬ 
tion. 

God loves those who love Him, and His gen¬ 
erosity is boundless. What then will He do for 
a soul which cherishes so tender an affection 
for Him ? He will enlighten her that so she 
may constantly increase in the knowledge of 
Him ’and of His infinite perfections, in the 
knowledge of Jesus Christ and of the great 
love He has shown for her. What sweet con¬ 
solations are her portion! She also learns to 
know more and more perfectly what are her 
duties and what is the real aim of her exist¬ 
ence; to know herself, her sinfulness, her 
weakness, her needs. And God not only en- 


92 The Tender Piety of the True Religious. 

lightens her mind, He gives her strength, He 
encourages her, and kindles within her heart 
the flame of charity ; she runs, nay more, she 
flies in the way of His commands and of His 
counsels. 

So great a blessing will this holy exercise 
of prayer become, if it is animated by a true 
spirit of devotion. Without it, she who prays 
will not continually co-operate with grace, but 
will remain in a state of weakness and igno¬ 
rance, and she will exceed her duties, without 
perceiving her error. And are you aware, my 
child, what a nun really is who is destitute of 
the true spirit of prayer and makes no effort 
to obtain it? She is a body without a soul, 
a lamp without oil, a ship without a rudder. 
In reg*ard to her community she is what a dis¬ 
located limb is to the body; it causes acute 
pain until it has been restored to its place. 

In the first place I would advise you, my 
child, not to absent yourself from the prayers 
which are said in community, but rather to 
consider it a great privilege to say them in 
union with your sisters; for the presence of 
zealous religious is a means of kindlingzeal, and 


The Tender Piety of the True Religious. 93 

God is more likely to yield to a holy violence 
if you all pray together. If, however, you are 
unavoidably prevented from enjoying this 
privilege, be careful not to spend a shorter 
time in prayer because you are alone; and if 
you cannot observe the appointed time for 
prayer, make up for what you have missed as 
best you can. Prayer is the food of the soul; 
if one is prevented from taking one’s meals 
at the usual hours, does one on this account 
go altogether without food which renews the 
strength of the body? Every nun ought to be 
a child of prayer; she ought to pray without 
ceasing, which means that she ought to be 
continually occupied with God or for God, and 
she will be enabled to accomplish this if she is 
fervent in prayer both morning and evening. 

But why do so many nuns not know how to 
pray? Why do they experience so many diffi¬ 
culties in the practice of this delightful em¬ 
ployment? Because they are not dead to 
themselves, because they are not detached 
from creatures, because they are not free from 
vanity. 

See that you remove these hindrances, my 


9 \ The Tender Piety of the True Religious 

dear child, and you will then love prayer, and 
pray in a spirit of true piety. 

In the second place, see that you are ani¬ 
mated by the same spirit of tender piety when 
you say Holy Office. Nuns are pledged to 
say the same Office as priests do, and they are 
moreover bound to perform this duty in a 
proper manner. The Church has in this way 
associated them to a certain extent with the 
priestly Office. How great an honor is this! 
This duty is binding upon the nun, and begins 
at the time when she pronounces her vows. 
From that hour it becomes her daily duty to 
offer to God this homage of praise in the name 
of the Church. Alas for her if she omits it 
without an adequate excuse, or performs it 
without attention or devotion! In this way 
she would become guilty of a fault which 
might possibly lead to the death of her 
soul. 

What powerful motives there are to induce 
a nun to perform this sacred duty in a spirit of 
piety! She prays as an ambassador of the 
Church which is so dear to her heart, she prays 
for all its members, the words which she utters 



The Tender Piety of the True Religious. 95 

are taken for the most part from Holy Scrip¬ 
ture, and therefore directly inspired by God; 
she makes use of them in addressing Him 
who is the supreme Being, before whom all 
creatures are as nothing. 

A nun who possesses but little true piety 
considers the recital of Holy Office to be a 
burdensome task. But she who is animated 
by true and tender piety finds no occupation 
more delightful than that of praising God. 
She always prepares herself for this exercise, 
lest by trusting too much in herself she should 
offend God. Accustomed as she is to live in a 
spirit of recollection, she enters yet more en¬ 
tirely into herself in order to place more 
clearly before her mind the nature of the oc¬ 
cupation in which she is about to engage, and 
to avoid dwelling upon any subject which 
might prove a source of distraction. She puri¬ 
fies her heart by making acts of love and of 
contrition, she places before herself the inten¬ 
tion of pleasing God, and with this end in view 
she earnestly entreats help from above. As 
far as the act of prayer is itself concerned she 
is very careful to recite her Office at the right 


96 7 he Tender Piety of the True Religious. 

time and in a suitable place, and while she is 
engaged in this angelic occupation her whole 
being prays, if I may so speak. Her mind 
prays with the closest possible attention; her 
heart prays in intimate union with God; even 
her body may be said to pray by means of the 
reverential posture she assumes, in which she 
appears annihilated, as it were, in the presence 
of God. 

Having concluded the Office, she thanks 
God for having permitted her in spite of her 
sinfulness and nothingness to utter His 
praises. Then again entering into herself, she 
laments the faults of which she has been 
guilty, and makes a firm resolution to pray 
with more careful preparation, more exact at¬ 
tention, and more fervent devotion for the fu¬ 
ture. 

In this manner, my dear child, will you say 
Holy Office, if you ar.e animated by a spirit of 
piety. 

It is not necessary to remind you that it is 
a fault which frequently gives scandal tp ab¬ 
sent yourself from the common recitation of 
the Office in choir, unless indeed you have 


The Tender Piety of the True Religious. 97 

grave and sufficient reasons for so doing; for 
this is prescribed by the Rule. 

A nun who is guided by feelings of piety 
fails not to quit whatever occupation she may 
be engaged in, as soon as she hears the first 
stroke of the bell which summons her to say 
her Office; she well knows that strict punc¬ 
tuality in this respect will be the means of ob¬ 
taining many graces. 

In the third place, let piety be the motive 
which actuates you in frequently approaching 
the sacraments. Why is it that so many persons 
approach them frequently and yet do not be¬ 
come more humble, more charitable, more 
dead to, and more watchful over, themselves ? 
Because it is not piety which leads them to 
approach the tribunal of penance and the holy 
table. Then what is their motive? It is cus¬ 
tom, self-love, human respect, and—dare I 
venture to say so—it is frequently a sort of 
hypocrisy. Let us grieve over this state of 
things, and humbly beg of God to avert it 
from us. O piety ! what great things dost 
thou effect in the hearts which are animated 
by thee; didst thou reign in the souls of all 


98 The Tender Piety of the True Religious . 

the spouses of Jesus Christ, would so many 
faults be apparent in them, although they so 
frequently approach the source of all sanctity? 
Would so many souls be found in convents 
who are so weak in resisting temptation, so 
faint-hearted in the practice of virtue, so prone 
to melancholy and impatience under suffering, 
so quickly stirred up to anger on the least 
provocation, so liable to indulge their bail 
temper if they think that any one intends to 
humiliate them, and too often so implacable in 
regard to persons whom they dislike? A small 
number of communions made in a spirit of 
true piety would suffice to change them alto¬ 
gether. It can even be said that one sing e 
communion ought to be sufficient to form a 
saint. The early Christians, it is true, com¬ 
municated every day; what were the fruits of 
these frequent communions? Behold and see 
the fruits which were produced in them: an 
intense horror of everything which could 
offend God; a careful vigilance in the perform¬ 
ance of all their duties; a tender love for Jesus 
Christ, and a fervent desire to make Him more 
widely known and better served; a perfect de- 


1 . af 0 . 


The Tender Piety of the True Religious. 99 


tachment from this world, and an ardent long¬ 
ing for heaven. Such were the results of their 
communions; they departed from the table of 
the Lord strong as lions and wholly enkindled 
by the fire of charity. 

I beseech you, my dear child, to receive the 
sacraments with the same dispositions as these 
true disciples of Jesus Christ; thus will your 
love continually increase, and ere long you will 
lead, as they did, a life resembling that which 
Jesus Christ led while He was on earth; when¬ 
ever His consecrated servant pronounces over 
you the sacred words of absolution you will 
be purified through His precious blood, and 
an increase of grace will be granted you; each 
time that you receive communion the sacred 
body of Jesus Christ, with which your soul is 
fed, will become to you a source of countless 
blessings and a happy pledge of a glorious im¬ 
mortality. 

A Prayer to Obtain ami Preserve a Spirit of 
Piety. 

O Jesus! how infinite is Thy greatness, and 
how infinite also Thy holiness! How fitting 


ioo The Tender Piety of the True Religious. 

it is that I should unceasingly adore Thee with 
the most profound reverence! All the homage 
which my heart can offer belongs of right to 
Thee; for Thou art my Lord and my God, my 
God and my All! I will say to Thee with my 
every breath that I adore Thee, that I give 
thanks to Thee, that I love Thee, that I belong 
to Thee alone, that I am wholly Thine; more 
especially will I do this during the happy hours 
which are devoted to prayer, when I fulfil the 
office of the angels in order to praise Thee in 
the name of the Church; and when I unite my¬ 
self to Thee by receiving Thy adorable body, 
I will animate my faith and endeavor to wor¬ 
ship Thee in spirit and in truth. Thou alone 
shalt occupy my mind and fill my heart. 

O Mary! whose intercession is so powerful 
with thy Son, cease not to pray for me that I 
may be filled with the spirit of piety and of 
holy fear, which are the sole means whereby 
the God of holiness can be honored aright. 

Amen! 


CHAPTER II. 

ON THE FIDELITY WHEREWITH A RELIGIOUS 
OUGHT TO FULFIL ALL THE DUTIES APPER¬ 
TAINING TO HER VOCATION. 

If, my dear child, you desire to become a per¬ 
fect religious, do not be content to fulfil your 
strict duty only: for instance, to be faithful to 
the Rule in general; but be punctual in com¬ 
plying with those details which do not belong 
to its more prominent obligations; for if a nun 
is not careful to comply with everything which 
is enjoined upon her, habit gradually leads her 
to become unfaithful, and this habit often 
leads to mortal sin. It leads to it in three 
ways: through self-delusion, through inclina¬ 
tion, and by way of punishment. 

It leads to it through self-delusion. People 
persuade themselves that this or that is of no 
moment, and consider even venial sin to be 


IOI 


102 On the Faithful Fulfilment of Duties. 

a mere trifle. What, however, is the result? 
Such persons often say Holy Office without 
attention, hear Holy Mass without devotion, 
imagine themselves to possess sufficient con¬ 
trition when they go to confession, and yet are 
not duly penitent; they communicate without 
preparation; and will not such tepidity gradu¬ 
ally lead on to grievous sin ? 

This want of fidelity in observing all that 
the religious life imposes, when it becomes 
habitual leads to mortal sin through inclina¬ 
tion. Infringements of the Rule become not 
only easy but pleasant, and from lesser trans¬ 
gressions the soul, almost, imperceptibly to 
herself, drifts into greater. Thus we read in* 
Holy Scripture: “ He that contemneth small 
things shall fall by little and little ” (Ecclus. 
xix. i). And Our Lord Himself says: “ He 
that is unjust in that which is little is unjust 
also in that which is greater ” (Luke xvi. 
io). St. Bernard tells us that from vanity to 
sin there is but a step. 

All the masters of the spiritual life use forci¬ 
ble comparisons in order to make us compre¬ 
hend this truth. Thev sav that unfaithfulness 


On the Faithful Fulfilment of Duties. 103 

in regard to conventual rules is like water 
which falls upon a stone, drop by drop, and 
gradually hollows it out; like floods which 
gradually wash away large portions of earth; 
like cannon-balls, of which the first merely 
shake the walls, while those which follow bat¬ 
ter them down; like a hedge which, if not 
properly mended, at first only admits into the 
garden animals which overrun and damage it, 
but afterwards affords an easy entrance to 
thieves, who carry off whatever they can lay 
their hands on. Any one who is frequently 
and wilfully unfaithful to her holy Rule lives 
—to say the very least—in a state of tepidity, 
and into what a terrible abyss may not habit¬ 
ual tepidity precipitate her! Tepidity fosters 
her passions, and her passions work her ruin. 

Unfaithfulness in keeping her holy Rule and 
in observing the regulations laid down in her 
convent leads on the religious to mortal sin 
also, by way of punishment. Does she not de¬ 
serve to be punished? She does not care 
about offending God, whom she has so many 
reasons to love; she wanders day by day fur¬ 
ther away from Him; and shall an offended 


i04 On the Faithful Fulfilment of Duties. 

God not visit the offender with His anger? 
He will do this by diminishing and withdraw¬ 
ing the aids of His grace; and is not a soul 
liable to become the prey of every sin if the 
assistance of God’s grace is wanting to her? 

See then, my child, that you are in all things 
faithful to your Rule! Great indeed are the 
advantages to be obtained by such perfect 
faithfulness. Through this fidelity you will 
honor and glorify God in as many ways as you 
offer yourself up to be a victim of obedience. 
Through this fidelity you will edify your fel¬ 
low-religious ; your example alone will be 
more effectual in inciting them to the practise 
of virtue than the most eloquent exhortations. 
Through this fidelity you will gain signal vic¬ 
tories over yourself and over the enemies of 
your salvation; you will obtain for yourself in 
this world treasures of grace and merit, and in 
the next life treasures of glory and blessedness. 

Therefore, my child, you must never forget 
of how great importance is inviolable fidelity 
in all things without any exception. Never for¬ 
get that in the rules enjoined upon you there 
is nothing which cannot and ought not to con- 


On the Faithful Fulfilment of Duties. 105 

tribute to your sanctification; so that, if you 
despise small things, by so doing you imperi. 
your eternal salvation. 

To sum up, your fidelity should possess the 
following characteristics: 

1. It should be well ordered; that is to say, 
you ought to make that which is of lesser im¬ 
portance subordinate to that which is of 
greater importance. While you faithfully ob¬ 
serve your holy Rule you must remember tha': 
the commands of God are more important 
still. 

2. Your fidelity should be exact, yet with¬ 
out producing anxiety of mind. There are 
circumstances in which religion or obedience 
may require that you should not keep to the 
letter of the Rule; in this case you must be¬ 
seech Our Lord to enable you only to abandon 
the letter of the Rule in order more fully to 
carry out its spirit, and then you must remain 
calm and content. An example may perhaps 
render my meaning more intelligible to you. 

St. Bernard commanded one of his monks 
to perform a work of Christian charity at a 
time when the Rule prescribed that a spiritual 


io6 On the Faithf ul Fulfilment of Duties. 

book treating of obedience should be read. It 
seemed very hard to the monk to be prevented 
from duly observing the Rule in regard to the 
perusal of the above-mentioned book, and he 
expressed the annoyance he felt. “ My 
brother,” replied the saint, “ to what purpose 
do you read about obedience if not in order 
that you may learn to obey? ” 

3. Your fidelity must be continual and en¬ 
during, for only to perseverance is a crown 
promised. A nun who is faithful only at inter¬ 
vals does not glorify God, whose will it is that 
He should be served with constancy and per¬ 
fection. She does not edify her neighbor, be¬ 
cause she gives him reason to be’ieve that her 
virtue is fleeting and unstable. She forgets 
that she can never cease to belong to God. 

4. Finally, the motives upon which your 
fidelity rests must be pure. What would it 
avail you to observe your Rule faithfully if you 
did not do this from motives of piety? There¬ 
fore resolve to fulfil the will of God, to seek 
forgiveness of your sins, to obtain this or that 
grace of which you may stand in need, solely 
and wholly in order to please Him who is the 


On the Faithful Fulfilment of Duties. 107 

Well-beloved of your soul, and then will your 
fidelity be pure in its nature. 

But should it happen that through careless¬ 
ness or human respect you transgress your 
Rule, what then? You must not give way to 
discouragement on this account; discourage¬ 
ment proceeds from self-love, and is not only 
useless but highly injurious. 

You must humble yourself before God, and 
as soon as practicable perform some act of 
penance; you must also express your sincere 
sorrow in the presence of the persons to whom 
you have set a bad example. You must fur¬ 
ther exercise great watchfulness over yourself 
in order that for the future you may perfectly 
observe your Rule both in the letter and in the 
spirit. 

When lying upon his death-bed, St. John 
Berchmans said : “ Nothing consoles me so 
much as the thought that during the seven 
years which I spent in the novitiate I never 
once transgressed my Rule.” 


io8 On the Faithful Fulfilment of Duties. 


A Prayer to Acquire Great Fidelity in all 
Things. 

O Jesus! Thou wast raised above all law, 
and yet Thou didst fulfil the law even to its 
smallest detail. I blush to think how careless I 
have too often been in doing what Thou didst 
require of me, and I entreat Thee to pardon 
me. How unfaithful have I been to grace! 
How have I thereby exposed myself to Thy 
displeasure! Alas! had I only been faithful 
in small things from love to Thee, how pleas¬ 
ing might I now be in Thy sight! How rich 
a store of merits might I not have acquired! 
I earnestly entreat Thee, O Lord, to grant me 
that love of fidelity which prevents even the 
smallest details from being neglected or over¬ 
looked. Grant me to be among the foremost 
in all good works, that I may thus draw down 
upon myself the first-fruits of Thy blessings 
I beseech Thee to grant me this grace through 
the intercession of Mary, who throughout her 
whole life was faithful in all things. 

Amen! 


CHAPTER III. 


ON THE FRATERNAL CHARITY WHICH A RE¬ 
LIGIOUS OUGHT TO EXERCISE TOWARDS HER 
SISTERS. 


I exhort you, my dear child, to exercise 
Christian charity in regard to your sisters ! 
And I cannot exhort you to this too frequently 
or too strongly. How many powerful motives 
you have to love them sincerely out of love to 
God! I will only touch briefly upon these mo¬ 
tives, but do you keep them constantly in 
mind in order that you may never sin against 
this precious virtue, but, on the contrary, 
practise is constantly. 

i. God has said: “ Love your neighbor as 
yourself.” Are you not bound to obey Him? 
And are not your sisters included in the word 
“ neighbor”? Could the commandment of 
God be more definite than it is? 


11 o Fraternal Charity towards Sisters in Religion. 


2. A nun who does not love her sisters does 
not love God; and in the degree in which she 
loves her sisters more warmly she has a 
greater love for God; for the command which 
bids you love God is inseparable from that 
which bids you love your neighbor; the two 
cannot be divided, the love of God being, in 
a certain sense, one and the same virtue as the 
love of your neighbor. The object is different, 
but the motive is the same. 

3. Spouse of Jesus Christ! The teaching of 
your divine Bridegroom enjoins upon us that 
we should love one another. That is His com¬ 
mand, the command to which He attaches the 
greatest value. He repeated it, explained it, 
and practised it, moreover, with marvellous 
perfection. By this token He recognizes His 
true disciples. It used to be said of the early 
Christians: “ See how they love one another! ” 
It ought to be said of all nuns in every com¬ 
munity: ‘“See how they love one another; they 
are in very deed but one heart and one soul ! ” 

What is a convent in which the spirit of love 
has taken up its abode ? It is a paradise upon 
earth, the dwelling-place of every virtue. 


Fraternal Charity towards Sisters in Religion. 111 

There peaceful days are spent, days pleasing 
to God, because through the practise of all the 
virtues fresh merits are constantly acquired. 
What, on the contrary, is a community which 
is guided and animated by a spirit other than 
that of Christian charity ? It is the abode 
of sin and will become a sort of hell upon 
earth. 

The Rule is not properly observed, duties 
are imperfectly performed, the holiest things 
are made use of without a spirit of piety, and 
sometimes unworthily; the nun becomes weary 
of the state of life she has chosen; whenever 
she sees any one whom she dislikes she allows 
her annoyance to be only too plainly seen. O, 
if she would only not express these feelings in 
words! But she frequently does so, to the 
great vexation of those around her. Her con¬ 
duct is a source of grief to pious souls; to 
others it is an occasion of sin. 

A nun who is destitute of fraternal charity 
has nothing of a nun but the habit, nothing 
of a Christian but the name. 

How happy ought you not to consider 
yourself, my child, since you live in a house 


112 Fraternal Charity towards Sisters in Religion. 

where the precepts of fraternal charity are so 
well understood and so faithfully carried out! 
Take every opportunity of practising this vir¬ 
tue; there is not one which you can practise 
more frequently and which will be more con¬ 
ducive to your spiritual advancement; God 
will amply repay every action which is per¬ 
formed out of Christian charity. 

Therefore when you are in the company of 
your sisters let your bearing towards them be 
an expression of Christian love; never give 
way to bad temper, never indulge in haughty 
looks and frigid manners. Let your conver¬ 
sation be dictated by Christian love. Never 
permit yourself to make biting remarks, cruel 
jests, or to repeat anything which is untrue or 
malicious. Let all your actions be so many 
acts of love; do your sisters every service you 
possibly can; do this without delay, looking 
for no recompense; love is ever swift of foot, 
ready to oblige, and totally unselfish. 

There are some nuns who make no progress 
in virtue, and experience much difficulty in the 
performance of their various duties; they are 
surprised at this, and search in vain for its 


Fraternal Charity towards Sisters in Religion. 113 

cause. I will tell them what it is: God deals 
grudgingly with them because they have not 
dealt generously with Him. He has ordained 
that our neighbor should occupy His place; 
and what such nuns as these refuse to their 
sisters they refuse to God, and what they do 
for their sisters from love to God He con¬ 
siders as done to Himself. 

Strive to abound in the spirit of love, and 
God will be generous to you; He will anoint 
you with the precious ointment of His grace, 
which has power to make that sweet which 
would otherwise be bitter. If you open wide 
the doors of your heart to admit the spirit of 
fraternal charity, you will make rapid progress 
in the path of perfection, you will run and not 
be weary. But what should be the character¬ 
istics of your charity? 

1. It should be all-embracing, it ought to be 
extended to all your sisters; there is not one 
among them who has not been created by God 
in His own image and likeness, not one in 
whom the perfections of God are not reflected; 
He dwells in them all, therefore it is your duty 
to love them all, and I wish it were possible 


114 Fraternal Charity towards Sisters in Religion. 

for you to love them all alike. Beware of par¬ 
ticular friendships. In the case of a nun friend¬ 
ships of this nature are very injurious to true 
fraternal charity, and are productive of much 
harm to the community. 

2. Your love should be generous. It should 
make you strong enough to overcome every 
obstacle and willing to sacrifice everything for 
the sake of peace. The contradictions and 
humiliations which you receive from any 
one should only serve to impart a new impe¬ 
tus and to give a fresh fervor to your love. 
If you feel any special love it should be for 
those among your sisters who show the least 
liking for you, for those in regard to whom 
you feel a natural aversion. 

You are, however, fully aware that these 
aversions, which one cannot help feeling for 
some people, are not sinful, provided they are 
not intentionally kept up. Try to struggle 
against them, and thus they will be to you a 
source of merit. 

The way to overcome them is to treat these 
persons with the same friendliness, ease, and 
cordiality as you would if you liked them. 




Fraternal Charity towards Sisters in Religion. 115. 

Are you not blind to your own interest if 
you are wanting 1 in charity, if you lose your 
peace of mind when any one humiliates you, 
contradicts you, slanders you? How rich 
is the store of merit which charity can, 
under these circumstances, lay up for you in 
eternity! 

The children of the world know very well 
how to conceal their sufferings, their feelings 
of dislike and annoyance; why cannot the in¬ 
habitants of the cloister do from motives of 
virtue what worldlings do from artificial po¬ 
liteness or interested motives? 

Therefore, my dear child, I earnestly beg 
you never to do anything calculated to vex 
your sisters, whatever grievance you may 
have against them. If you have unintention¬ 
ally or through want of due watchfulness over 
yourself grieved and hurt any one, whether by 
your words or your actions (for deeds often 
speak louder than words), lose no time in mak¬ 
ing the apology which charity and humility 
will alike suggest to you. 

You will be respected if you thus acknowl¬ 
edge your faults and try to amend them, and 


116 Fraternal Charity towards Sisters in Religion. 

by this means will the bad impression you had 
made be wiped away. The failings you have 
recognized and acknowledged will turn to 
your profit if they cause you to become more 
careful and more watchful. 

3. Your love should be unselfish. Never 
does Christian charity seek its own advantage. 
Show your sisters that you are kind to them, 
not in order that they may love you, speak 
kindly to you, or do you service, but because 
you desire to please God, and love them for 
His sake. Yours should be a supernatural 
charity, therefore say frequently to God: O 
God of love! grant that I may possess true 
charity ! 

4. Your love should be kind and forbear¬ 
ing. Keep the door of your soul constantly 
closed against malicious interpretations, jeal¬ 
ousy, unkind thoughts, and rash judgments. 
Do not hastily condemn what you see; if you 
cannot excuse the irregularities of which you 
are a witness, excuse as far as you possibly can 
the persons in whom you have remarked 
them; lament over their reprehensible conduct 
before God alone, hope for their improvement. 


Fraternal Charity towards Sisters i?i Religion. 117 

and never speak to your sisters about their 
failings. 

But do not content yourself, my child, with 
abstaining from rash judgments of your sis¬ 
ters, with doing them no harm, with never 
setting them a bad example, or giving them 
just cause for complaint; do not content your¬ 
self with a mere feeling of kindness towards 
them; for, if charity truly dwells within the 
heart, it will make its presence known by ex¬ 
ternal signs. Show your love by deeds of 
charity. Pray much for your sisters, give 
them useful advice; if you are in a position 
to do so, gently point out to them their faults, 
if you think it will be useful to them. When¬ 
ever you converse with them make some re¬ 
mark which may lead them nearer to God; 
comfort those in affliction and help them to 
lift their eyes to heaven; show them that it 
is a real pleasure to render them any service 
which may lie within your power. 

There are in every community some sisters 
who have a special claim upon your tender¬ 
ness and charity; I refer to the sick and ail¬ 
ing. I entreat you, my dear child, to do noth- 


118 Fraterfial Charity towards Sisters in Religion. 

ing* which could cause them to think that the 
charity of Christ does not reign supreme in 
your heart. 

You can judge from what I have just said 
whether you possess true charity, and whether 
your charity fulfils all the conditions which 
have been specified. Look into your own 
heart and ask yourself the following questions: 
Have I never sinned against charity? Is my 
charity perfect and complete? Do I intend 
to apply myself earnestly to the practice of 
this precious virtue? And if so, what ought I 
to do? 

A Prayer for the Divine Assistance in the 
Practice of Fraternal Charity. 

Thou, O Jesus, art a God of love, and what 
exceeding charity hast Thou not shown to me! 
An infinite love impelled Thee to be both my 
Redeemer and the Spouse of my soul. O my 
Redeemer, Spouse of my soul ! never permit 
me to sin against charity, the virtue of which 
during Thy whole life Thou didst set me so 
bright an example. 


Fraternal Charity towards Sisters in Religion, i f 9 

Alas ! it is the very virtue in the practice 
of which I have so frequently failed, while I 
have not sufficiently dwelt upon my faults in 
regard to it. How little, alas ! do I possess 
of that spirit of charity which, however, ought 
to be the ruling spirit in the heart of every 
religious. I implore Thy pardon, O my God ! 
grant me that spirit which I so sorely need. 
Make me to be animated by it, so that I may 
impart it to my sisters, and from this time 
forward I may love them all as I love myself, 
from love of Thee. 

O Mary, who dost love us all as thy chil¬ 
dren, I entreat thee to preserve in her who 
glories in calling herself thy servant, and who 
so frequently receives in holy communion 
the God of love, a love equal to that which 
thou dost feel for us. 

Amen ! 


CHAPTER IV. 


ON THE HUMILITY WHICH IT BEHOOVES A 

t 

RELIGIOUS TO PRACTISE AT ALL TIMES AND ON 
ALL OCCASIONS. 

Humility, my dear child, does not consist 
in wearing coarse and unsightly garments and 
in betraying no external sign of vanity : if 
such were the case, the greater number of 
nuns would be humble. Neither does humil¬ 
ity consist in words; if this were so, the vir¬ 
tue would not be so rare as it is. Many nuns 
are to be met with who speak the language of 
humility, but their language is merely an arti¬ 
fice of self-love. Of this I will .now give you 
a proof. 

Such persons are ready enough to blame 
themselves, they accuse themselves in public 
of their faults with every appearance of humil- 


120 


The Humility to be Practised by a Religious. 1 2 1 

ity, but no sooner does one of their sisters 
humiliate them, no sooner are they treated in 
a contemptuous manner, no sooner do they 
discover that some one has been speaking 
against them, than they become restless, and 
weep like children from wounded self-love, 
either in public or in the privacy of their own 
cell. They defend themselves as eagerly as if 
the honor of God Himself were at stake, they 
grow exceedingly angry, and frequently go so 
far as almost to hate the very individuals 
whom they would love all the more tenderly 
did they possess true humility. 

Would not all the circumstances of which 
I have been speaking furnish an excellent op¬ 
portunity for the practise of humility ? The 
nun ought to acquiesce in the humiliation she 
has received, or say with St. Francis of Sales: 
“ People spare me because they do not really 
know me. If they were to proclaim all the 
evil that is in me they would say a great deal 
more than they do.” 

Be very moderate, my child, in regard to the 
expressions of humility of which you make 
use, lest you should speak in a manner which 


122 The Humility to he Practised by a Religious, 

might be calculated to procure for you the 
esteem of those about you. 

Humility consists in having a mean opinion 
of one’s self; therefore humility is defined to 
be a knowledge of one’s self, and he who is 
not humble does not know himself. 

Entertain therefore so low an opinion of 
yourself as to consider that you are unworthy 
to be esteemed, honored, or preferred above 
others. 

Have so mean an opinion of yourself as to 
regard yourself as inferior to all your sisters, 
and even to the greatest sinners, because you 
ought to think that had they received the 
graces with which you have been favored they 
would have served God better than you have 
done. 

Have so mean an opinion of yourself as to 
feel for yourself nothing but contempt, and if 
you are unkindly treated or despised, say in the 
secret of your heart: “ I am treated as I de¬ 
serve to be; I deserve nothing but shame and 
contempt.” 

Have we not all good reason to be humble, 
whether we regard ourselves as human beings, 


The Humility to be Practised by a Religious . 123 

as Christians, or as religious ? If we regard 
ourselves as human beings, what are we, what 
do we possess, what do we deserve, what can 
we accomplish, if left to ourselves? We are 
made out of nothing; everything good that 
we possess is the free gift of God; we have 
deserved hell; without the aid of grace we are 
unable to perform any good work. 

Again, have we not been told as Christians 
that “ God resisteth the proud and giveth 
grace to the humble ” (Jas. iv. 6)? Does 
not Jesus Christ Himself exhort us in the fol¬ 
lowing words, bidding us “ Learn of Me, be¬ 
cause I am meek and humble of Heart ’’ 
(Matt. xi. 29) ? 

Since you have embraced the religious life, 
are you not thereby doubly bound to the 
practice of humility? What lessons do the 
coarse garments you wear, the unappetizing 
food which is served up to you, the bare cell 
which you inhabit, teach you, if not to be 
humble? 

I implore you to be humble because you are 
a Christian and because you desire to corre¬ 
spond to your vocation! Be humble in all 


124 The Humility to be Practised by a Religious . 

things, in your thoughts, in your feelings, in 
your words, in your exterior, in your whole 
bearing. And, since St. Bernard says that hu¬ 
miliations lead to humility, beware of shrink¬ 
ing from humiliations. If you encounter them 
accept them with patience, nay, more, receive 
them with love, and thank God for them ! 
They are gold coins of such great value that 
with them you may purchase heaven ! Say 
therefore to God, in the words of the Psalm¬ 
ist: “ It is good for me that Thou hast hum¬ 
bled me ” (Ps. cxviii. 71). 

If, my child, you desire that your peace of 
mind should remain undisturbed amid hu¬ 
miliations, deprivation of office, contempt, 
contradictions, cruel speeches, severe com¬ 
mands, haughty looks, derision, false accusa¬ 
tions, detraction and slander, I will tell you 
how this is to be done. 

Place yourself in thought below all your 
sisters; reflect that hell would be a suitable 
abode for you; be ashamed that, notwith¬ 
standing all your sins, you are permitted to 
dwell among holy souls; constantly call to 
your remembrance that you are the servant 


The Humility to be Practised by a Religious . 125 

and spouse of a God who was steeped in hu¬ 
miliations; never forget that the wise counsel 
of the pious author of the “ Imitation ”— 
“ Love to be forgotten, despised, trodden un¬ 
der foot ! ” applies in a special manner to re¬ 
ligious. 

A nun who is animated by such dispositions 
is far from loving the highest places, from in¬ 
triguing in order to be placed in a position of 
command, from seeking the approval of men 
in all her actions, from desiring that her good 
works should be known to any one but God, 
from wishing to have on her person or in her 
cell anything which could suggest the idea 
that vanity still lingers in her. Such a nun is 
a great treasure for her sisters. She con¬ 
stantly edifies them, she preaches to them 
about all the virtues in a most marvellous and 
convincing manner. O life of humility, how 
beautiful thou art ! And alas ! how rarely art 
thou to be met with among those who are 
consecrated to the God of humility ! My dear 
child, the lower you are in your own eyes the 
higher you are in the sight of God. You will 
gain a loftier place in heaven in proportion to 


126 The Humility to he Practised by a Religious. 

the degree in which you have humbled your¬ 
self upon earth. Do not therefore content 
yourself with holding the virtue of humility in 
high esteem; love it fervently and practise it 
constantly. 

But I consider it necessary to dwell yet 
more fully upon the virtue of humility, for if 
you are perfectly humble you will be perfect 
in every other virtue, and the more you grow 
in humility the more will you increase/in every 
other virtue. Strive therefore to obtain this 
virtue in all its perfection, rise from one step 
to another in the practice of it, and in order 
that you may understand wherein true humil¬ 
ity consists and what are the steps you have to 
ascend, listen to the following instruction 
upon the 

Twelve Degrees of Humility. 

I have said that you will be perfect in every 
virtue if you are perfect in humility, for hu¬ 
mility is the parent of all virtues. “ God re¬ 
sisted! the proud, and giveth grace to the 
humble’’ (Jas. iv.6). In the opinion of the mas- 


The Humility to be Practised by a Religious. 127 

ters of the spiritual life humility is the founda¬ 
tion of all Christian virtue, and still more of 
religious perfection. Jesus Christ, our Mas¬ 
ter and Model, did not content Himself with 
frequently giving us instructions upon it, He 
practised it Himself in all the circumstances 
of His life. St. Paul says: “ He emptied Him¬ 
self, taking the form of a servant, being made 
in the likeness of man and in habit found as 
a man. He humbled Himself, becoming 
obedient unto death, even to the death of the 
cross ” (Phil. ii. 7, 8). He declared hu¬ 
mility to be the distinguishing mark of His 
disciples when He said: “ Take up My yoke 
upon you and learn of Me, because I am meek 
and humble of Heart, and you shall find rest 
to your souls. For My yoke is sweet and My 
burden light ” (Matt. xi. 29, 30). 

Vainly would a pious soul desire to bear the 
yoke of Jesus Christ did she not begin by striv¬ 
ing to be humble of heart; she would speedily 
sink under the burden, for humility alone can 
render it sweet and light, and give us peace 
amid all the privations, sufferings, contradic¬ 
tions and trials of this life. 


128 The Humility to be Practised by a Religious. 

The most blessed Virgin Mary, the faithful 
imitator of the virtues of her Son, was, like 
Him, an example of humility, and it was prin¬ 
cipally by means of this precious virtue that 
she merited the favor of her divine maternity; 
she herself acknowledges this in the following 
words: “ He hath regarded the humility of 
His handmaid ” (Luke i. 48). As daugh¬ 
ters of the Blessed Virgin nuns are specially 
pledged to study carefully and to imitate dili¬ 
gently this eminent virtue of their Mother. It 
is the only means whereby they can render 
themselves well-pleasing to Jesus Christ, their 
celestial Bridegroom, edify their younger sis¬ 
ters whom they instruct, perfectly fulfil the du¬ 
ties of their vocation, and enjoy happiness and 
peace of mind. 

The signs of humility may be regarded as 
so many degrees or steps to perfection. If 
they are carefully considered it will be per¬ 
ceived that this virtue is in very deed the par¬ 
ent, the protector, and the'ornament of all the 
rest. 

The first degree of humility consists in the con¬ 
stant remembrance of our sins. 


The Humility to be Practised by a Religious . 129 

There is nothing more capable of rendering 
us thoroughly humble than the contemplation 
of the number and greatness of our shortcom¬ 
ings, of the ingratitude by means of which we 
constanly offend a God who so loved us as 
to deliver up His only Son as the price of our 
redemption, who might have cast us into 
everlasting fire as the penalty of our sins, and 
who yet condescended to wait until we should 
repent, in order to shower His graces upon us, 
and to promise us a blessed eternity as the re¬ 
ward of our services; a God who is ever pres¬ 
ent with us, whose eyes ever regard us and 
mark the most secret thoughts of our heart. 
Since a nun has received from God more 
graces than others, she ought to feel more 
deeply the greatness of her sins, and on this 
account to be more humble and bewail them 
more bitterly. Humility is the inseparable 
companion of penitence. 

The second degree of humility consists in the 
complete renunciation of our own will. 

Jesus Christ Himself has said: “ I came 
down from heaven, not to do My own will, but 
the will of Him that sent Me ” (John vi. 


130 The Humility to be Practised by a Religious. 

38). It would be a mark of extreme pride to 
strive after a privilege of which Jesus Christ 
deprived Himself, the liberty, that is, of doing 
whatever we please, and of retaining posses¬ 
sions when we have made a vow to renounce 
them all. It is pride which induces us to pre¬ 
fer our own will to the will of our superior 
and to what our holy Rule prescribes; it is 
pride which makes us unwilling to bear any 
sort of burden, and persuades us that we were 
not created for the purpose of being ordered 
about like children; it is pride which whispers 
in our ear that what we wish to do is better, 
more necessary, and more sensible than that 
which we are commanded to do. Humility 
alone is the parent of obedience. 

The third degree of humility consists in a 
readiness to suffer all things for God. 

Thus did Jesus Christ act during the whole 
of His life and more especially during His Pas¬ 
sion. Like a lamb that is led to the altar in 
order to be slain, He bore with unruffled calm¬ 
ness accusations, calumnies, contempt, blows, 
pain, and even death itself. According to this 
divine Model a bride of Jesus Christ ought to 


The Humility to be Practised by a Religious. 13 r 

be ready to suffer everything without a mur¬ 
mur; to do what she most dislikes and which 
costs her the greatest effort; to endure all the 
infirmities of nature, the pains of sickness, the 
hardships of poverty; and, as regards her sis¬ 
ters and superiors, to bear every mark of con¬ 
tempt, dislike, ill-will, neglect, and indiffer¬ 
ence. Far from fancying herself to be unjustly 
and unkindly treated, or thinking that less 
favor is shown to her than to others, she re¬ 
joices, as did the Apostle, to bear some por¬ 
tion of the reproach of Jesus Christ. “ Let us 
go forth therefore to Him without the 
camp, bearing His reproach ” (Heb. xiii. 13). 
She says to herself that she has deserved a 
hundredfold more, and that she would count 
herself most fortunate if she could purchase 
eternal felicity at this cost. Thus does humil¬ 
ity produce patience. 

The fourth degree of humility consists in a 
cheerful acquiescence in everything calculated to 
humble us. 

When a nun who is truly humble manifests 
her interior to her superior or spiritual guide, 
she does so in a straightforward manner, with- 


132 The Humility to be Practised by a Religious . 

out using elaborate phrases, seeking for ex¬ 
cuses, or desiring that the reproofs adminis¬ 
tered to her and the penances appointed her 
should be mild and easy. When she is in the 
company of her sisters she does not try to 
conceal the faults into which she has fallen, 
to avoid suspicion, and to give things a turn 
favorable to herself. Her humility teaches her 
to be candid, according to the command of 
Jesus Christ: “ Let your speech be yea, yea; 
no, no; and that which is over and above these 
is of evil ” (Matt. v. 37). This candor, how¬ 
ever, must not be mistaken for the affected 
manner in which some persons seek to abase 
themselves without cause. To speak of our¬ 
selves in a tone of contempt in order to induce 
others to praise us is false humility, or rather 
a subtle form of pride. Honesty, candor, sim¬ 
plicity, both in speech and action, are the fruits 
of true humility. 

The fifth degree of humility consists in 
despising nothing. 

The meanest duties, the most contemptible 
offices, the most disagreeable tasks, the most 
wearisome labors can never be displeasing to 


The Humility to be Practised by a Religious . 133 

a truly humble soul. Obedience sanctifies and 
ennobles them in her eyes; all that she does 
for God and in a spirit of self-abnegation 
merits heaven. Were she provided with the 
worst food, the shabbiest clothing, the most 
uncomfortable cell, were she given the lowest 
place in the choir, the chapter, or the com¬ 
munity, she would not be angry, she would 
not complain; if she had accomplished every¬ 
thing which obedience or charity could pre¬ 
scribe to her, no feelings of self-complacency 
would enter her mind, nor would she imagine 
that any thanks were due to her on this ac¬ 
count, for she would remember the teaching 
of Our Lord when He said: “ When you shall 
have done all these things that are commanded 
you, say: We are unprofitable servants, we 
have done that which we ought to do ” 
(Luke xvii. 10). Thus humility produces zeal 
and exactitude in the performance of every 
duty. 

The sixth degree of humility consists in pre¬ 
ferring one’s self to no one. . 

A proud spirit incessantly makes compari¬ 
sons between itself and others, and invariably 


134 The Humility to be Practised by a Religious. 

to its own advantage; it is skilful in concealing 
its own faults, and keen in discovering those 
of others; it makes no effort to amend in its 
own case defects which it cannot tolerate in 
others. Such a person becomes restless, jeal¬ 
ous, curious, fretful and discontented, often 
quite intolerable to those around. A humble 
soul has, on the contrary, eyes only for her 
own failings; if she perceives those of others 
she hides them, excuses them, and pardons 
them. She is severe upon herself alone, and 
takes as her rule of action the promise of the 
Redeemer: “ Forgive and you shall be for¬ 
given ” (Luke vi. 37). Thus does humility 
bring about the reign of charity. 

The seventh degree of humility consists in 
avoiding singularity. 

Why should we not do as other people do, 
if they act aright? The effort to act otherwise 
and to make ourselves remarkable is the effect 
of vanity. Our divine Teacher bids us: “ Take 
heed that you do not your justice before men 
to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not 
have a reward of your Father who is in 
heaven ” (Matt. vi. 1). Our Redeemer did 


The Humility to be Practised by a Religious. 135 

not disdain to conform to the manners, habits, 
and customs of His nation. Hear what St. 
Paul tells us: “ We have not a high priest 
who cannot have compassion on our infirmi¬ 
ties, but one tempted in all things like as we 
are, without sin ” (Heb. iv. 15). A nun who 
is truly humble only does what is taught her 
by the holy Rule or by the example and direc¬ 
tions of her superiors; she is always ready to 
seek their advice and to carry it out; she is 
neither foolishly conceited in regard to her 
own intelligence, nor obstinately attached to 
her own opinions. Humility teaches her to be 
docile. 

The eighth degree of humility •consists in 
keeping silence willingly. 

There would be less love of talking if there 
were less desire to gain approbation by the 
display of courtesy, thoughtfulness, cleverness, 
prudence, or any other praiseworthy quality. 
If we knew for a certainty that what we were 
so anxious to say would bring down upon us 
contempt or frame, we should not attempt to 
open our mouth. The Wise Man says: “ In 
the multitude of words there shall not want 


136 The Humility to he Practised by a Religious. 

sin ” (Prov. x. 19). Thus humility leads to 
prudent watchfulness over the tongue. 

The ninth degree of humility consists in never 
wishing to humiliate any one. 

Those who make depreciating jokes, mali¬ 
cious and impolite remarks in regard to 
others, do so because they consider themselves 
to be superior to them, and desire to diminish 
the good opinion which others entertain con¬ 
cerning them, in order to turn it to their own 
advantage. Hence arise jealousy, an un- 
amiable and quarrelsome disposition, a proud 
and haughty carriage, manner of speaking, and 
expression of countenance, and a love of fault¬ 
finding. Too often, while detesting these fail¬ 
ings in others, we are not on our guard against 
them in regard to ourselves. We must be 
truly humble if we desire to be gentle and 
pleasing in all our comfort. 

The tenth degree of humility consists in watch¬ 
ing over one's self , especially zvhen engaged in 
conversation. 

Frivolity, thoughtlessness, exaggerated 
gayety, a critical and depreciatory way of 
speaking, invariably result from secret pride. 


The Humility to be Practised by a Peligious. 137 

A nun ought to avoid talking about herself, 
making herself important and attracting to 
Herself the attention of others. A humble nun 
will avoid mentioning in a boastful spirit her 
personal qualities, anything special which she 
may have said or done, her family, her rela¬ 
tives, the high positions they may occupy, the 
temporal prosperity they may enjoy, or the 
advantages she might herself have hoped for 
had she remained in the world. These are 
vanities which she has renounced. Curious 
and imprudent questions, expressions likely 
to wound the feelings of others, and which are 
dictated by ill-temper, anger, or malice; quar¬ 
rels, wranglings carried on with heat and ob¬ 
stinacy, reproaches, complaints, murmurings, 
and susceptibilities should be strictly banished 
from the company of those who are spouses 
of Jesus Christ. St. Paul exhorts the faithful 
to love one another, to honor and prevent one 
another. He says: “ Loving one another with 
the charity of brotherhood, with honor pre¬ 
venting one another ” (Rom. xii. 10). This 
duty ought to be most strictly observed by 
persons consecrated to God. If a nun has any 


138 The Humility to be Practised by a Religious. 

real complaint or cause for discontent in re¬ 
gard to any of her sisters, or is compelled to 
mention the faults of any one, she should take 
no one into her confidence, but speak to the 
superior alone of the matter in question; and 
she must do this without exaggeration, wi.hout 
self-love, and without any personal interest 
whatsoever. True humility will always make 
her cautious, silent, compassionate, and timid. 
This is a fundamental principle of wisdom. 

The eleventh degree of humility consists in mis¬ 
trust of self. This is an infallible mark of this 
virtue. 

To trust in a great measure to one’s own 
strength, to expose one’s self to the perils of 
temptation, because one has frequently es¬ 
caped them, to trust to the good one has done, 
to the virtues one supposes one’s self to have 
attained, to the progress one imagines one’s 
self to have made, constitute a proud pre¬ 
sumption which God often punishes by allow¬ 
ing such an individual to fall into grievous 
sins. In regard more especially to holy purity 
must the utmost care and watchfulness be ob¬ 
served. A nun must always feel her own 


The Humility to be Practised by a Peligious. 139 

weakness, and believe that there is no sin into 
which she is not liable to fall, since indeed per¬ 
sons held in high esteem have not unfre- 
quently given scandal to the Church. The 
Fathers have again and again remarked in 
their writings that God generally humbles the 
proud by means of sins of the most humiliat¬ 
ing nature, and that pride is more to be 
dreaded in the case of virgins than in that of 
other persons. Humility and distrust of se’f 
are therefore the surest guardians of chastity. 

The twelfth degree of humility consists in 
keeping a careful zvatch over the senses. 

A spouse of Jesus Christ ought never to re¬ 
lax her guard over her exterior, nor cease for a 
single instant to watch over her external de¬ 
meanor and over her senses. In her whole 
person and wherever she may be, the name 
with which she is honored ought to be clearly 
read. In the choir, in the workroom, in the 
refectory, in the garden, when she is walking 
and when she is at rest, her whole demeanor 
ought to show her interior spirit and breathe 
forth the perfection of virtue. She ought to 
bear in mind that the eyes of God and of His 


140 The Humility to be Practised by a Religious. 

holy angels are constantly fixed upon her; that 
Jesus Christ feels a holy jealousy in regard to 
the honor and purity of His spouses, and that 
He will excuse nothing which is calculated to 
offend His supreme majesty. She ought to 
stand in constant dread of sharing the fate of 
the foolish virgins, who, as the bridegroom 
said, were cast forth from his presence because 
they had been wanting in watchfulness and 
had failed to provide themselves with a supply 
of oil. She cannot exercise too much care in 
order to keep unspotted the marriage gar¬ 
ment, without which, instead of being admit¬ 
ted to the bridal feast of the Lamb, she will be 
cast into the exterior darkness. Humility will 
furnish her with an incentive to watchfulness 
and modesty. 

A Prayer to Obtain Grace to Practice the Virtue 
of Humility. 

How wondrous, O Jesus ! is Thy humility, 
and how infinitely worthy of admiration; Thou 
didst humble Thyself to the furthest limit, 
even to the annihilation of self; Thou dost 
command all Thy followers to learn humility 


The Humility to be Practised by a Religious. 141 

from Thee. I have pledged myself to prac¬ 
tise this virtue because I am a Christian, and 
still more because I have embraced the re¬ 
ligious life, which is a life of humility. 

I count myself happy, O my God, in that 
I have renounced the vanities of the world 
and chosen my present state, in order to be the 
least and the lowest of all in Thy house. Yet 
unless I am truly humble in heart and mind 
I shall not be saved merely because I make an 
outward profession of humility in keeping with 
my state of life. 

Am I therefore humble ? Alas, O Lord ! 
I do not possess true humility; I am full of 
pride and vanity. Not a single day passes in 
which I do not commit many faults through 
pride, and in which the same pride does not 
prevent me from seeing the faults into which 
I have fallen. How sad is all this ! 

I earnestly beseech Thee, O my Redeemer ! 
for the sake of Thy own marvellous humilia¬ 
tions, to deliver me from the pride which holds 
sway over me; I will never cease to wage a 
relentless war against this terrible sin, which is 
the sin of the devil. 


142 The Humility to be Practised by a Religious . 

O most blessed Virgin ! whose humility 
was so pleasing to God that it led Him to 
choose thee to be the Mother of His Son, in¬ 
tercede on my behalf in order that I may be 
imbued with a fervent love of humility and 
also of humiliations. Amen ! 


CONCLUSION. 

Such, my dear child,is the perfect religious; 
that is her portrait, her likeness. See in it what 
you yourself ought to be ! Do you recognize 
these features as your own ? I do not ask 
you this question in order to humble you, but 
in order that you may give glory to God if 
you have in reality offered to Him the sacri¬ 
fice which you ought to offer Him; if you have 
in reality practised the virtues which you are 
bound to practise. 

Meanwhile I seem to hear you say: “ Alas ! 
how far I am from having attained the perfec¬ 
tion required of me ! I am a religious in name 
alone.” If that should be the-real state of the 
case, humble yourself before God, but do not 
lose courage. 

You plainly see the necessity of becoming 
different from what you are, and you are ear- 
143 


144 


Conclusion. 


nestly desirous of effecting this change. How 
are you to attain the object of your wishes ? 

Through the merits of Jesus Christ; pray 
without ceasing for the grace of the Holy 
Spirit; with His aid you can attain to a degree 
of perfection which you have not reached. But 
since our blessed Mother Mary can gain for 
us all graces and favors from her divine Son, 
implore her to intercede on your behalf, for 
she loves you tenderly. 

And thus let grace be the mainspring of all 
your actions, the holy will of God your chief 
concern, charity your motive, the glory of God 
your aim, Jesus Christ your Example whom 
you are to imitate in a spirit of contrition and 
penance, with whom you should remain con¬ 
stantly and closely united. 

Yet one word more. If you desire to be a 
perfect religious, so reflect upon the dignity 
of your state which brings you nearer to the 
angels, reflect upon the priceless privileges 
which are attached to the religious life. 

i. Through keeping the vows of holy pov¬ 
erty, obedience, and chastity the religious is 
enabled to lead a life of greater purity. 


Conclusion . 


145 


2. Through not being exposed to the occa¬ 
sions of sin, the dangers of the world, and un¬ 
desirable conversation, the religious falls less 
often. 

3. And should she fall she rises again more 
quickly through .the many aids that are within 
her reach: spiritual reading, the good exam¬ 
ples she sees around her, the charitable ad¬ 
monitions she receives. 

4. The religious walks more warily, 
through the habit of constant vigilance over 
herself and the contemplation of the sins of 
which she has been guilty in the past, and of 
the evil consequences ensuing from them. 

5. The religious enjoys greater peace of 
mind on account of the happiness resulting 
from the practice of the different virtues and 
from the testimony of a good conscience. 

6. The religious is more recollected, be¬ 
cause there is less to cause her distractions; 
she is favored with more abundant graces and 
spends much of her time in pious exercises. 

7. The religious has less difficulty in 
cleansing herself from her faults because she 
perceives them more clearly, has stronger 


146 


Conclusion. 


motives for abhorring them, and approaches 
the sacraments more frequently. 

8. The religious meets death more tran¬ 
quilly because she has lived more ho’ily, has a 
clearer knowledge of God, is more detached 
from the things of earth, and aspires more fer¬ 
vently after heaven. 

9. The religious will receive a richer re¬ 
ward after death because she has followed the 
maxims of the Gospel more closely, has imi¬ 
tated Jesus Christ more perfectly, and has 
never ceased to overcome the world, the flesh, 
and the devil. 

O bride of Jesus Christ ! will you no£ make 
the words of St. Bernard your own, and ex¬ 
claim with him: “ O solitude, how I love thee; 
in thee alone do I find true happiness ! ” 


PART III. 


AN EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE IN¬ 
TENDED FOR NUNS , AND FOR THOSE 
WHO DESIRE TO EMBRACE THE 
RELIGIOUS LIFE. 


It is a source of perplexity to nuns, when 
they are about to make a confession for a 
longer period than usual, to find books in 
which the form of self-examination is calcu¬ 
lated to call their attention to their own special 
duties and obligations. The following form 
may perhaps prove of service to them: 

BEFORE ENTERING THE NOVITIATE. 

Have I used every means in order to dis¬ 
cover whether God has called me to become 
a nun ? 

The first means consists in a Christian and 
penitent life. 

Have I avoided everything and done 
147 



148 Examination of Conscience. 

everything which a true Christian ought 
to avoid and to perform ? Have I truly re¬ 
pented of the sins of which I have been guilty 
during my past life ? Have I done penance 
for them ? 

The second means consists in prayer. 

Have I prayed fervently and frequently in 
order that the will of God might be made 
known to me? 

The third means consists in diligently acquaint¬ 
ing one’s self with the obligations of the religious 
life. 

Have I carefully studied the true import 
of the vows of poverty, obedience, and 
chastity, and of the rules and regulations of 
the Order, and whilst thus employed have I 
been able to cherish a hope that with the aid 
of divine grace I may be enabled faithfully to 
fulfil them all ? 

The fourth means consists in seeking counsel. 

Have I conferred with a pious, enlightened, 
prudent and unselfish director, and have I, in 
order that he might give me suitable advice, 
unfolded to him all my past faults and foibles, 
and ail my present tendencies ? 


Examination of Conscience. 


149 


What has been my motive in choosing the 
life of the cloister ? Have I done so from 
caprice or discontent, or because I could not 
hope to be comfortably and suitably provided 
for in the world, or else because I dreaded to 
incur the displeasure of those who persuaded 
me to take this step ? Have I, on my entrance 
into the convent, resolved to do the will of 
God, to protect myself from the dangers of 
the world, to lead a life of penance, and per- 
severingly to work at my own perfection ? 
Have I committed any important error in the 
general confession which I made on that occa¬ 
sion ? 


DURING THE NOVITIATE. 

Did I renounce all my bad habits and nu¬ 
merous failings when I was clothed in the holy 
garments of religion ? Did I make a firm 
resolution to wage unceasing warfare against 
my vicious inclinations ? Have I striven to 
confirm myself in my vocation by a faithful 
fulfilment of all my duties ? Have I performed 
all religious exercises with diligence, with 
every mark of humble homage, and with an 


Examination of Conscience. 


T 5 ° 

interior fear of Gocl ? Have I honored and 
loved my superior and novice-mistress as be¬ 
ing God’s representatives ? Have I regarded 
their advice and commands as the declaration 
of His will ? Have I always spoken of them 
with respect ? Have I been careful not to give 
scandal to my fellow-novices ? When I have 
set them a bad example have I endeavored to 
remedy the evil consequences of it as soon as 
possible ? Have I constantly edified them by 
the regularity of my conduct, by taking their 
failings upon myself, by my readiness to obey, 
by the mcrdesty of my bearing, my reverential 
demeanor whilst engaged in religious exer¬ 
cises ? Have I done nothing in order that the 
nuns might give me their votes when the time 
for making my vows was near at hand ? Have 
I prepared myself to pronounce those vows 
by duly going through a course of spiritual 
exercises ? 

AFTER TAKING THE VOWS. 

Had I at the time of my profession good 
grounds for believing that my vocation came 


Examination of Conscience. 151 

from God ? Had my confessor given me per¬ 
mission to make my vows, and did he assure 
me that he had reason to hope that I should 
make a good religious ? Did I spend some 
days after my profession in thanking God that 
He had been graciously pleased to choose me 
to be enrolled among the number of His 
spouses ? 

UPON THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 

Have I deserved the name of nun by keep¬ 
ing the commandments of God with faithful¬ 
ness and fervor ? 

“ Thou shalt worship the one true God and 
love Him above all things.” 

What has been the nature of my faith ? It 
ought to be strong; has it not been very 
weak? Have I striven to reanimate it by mak¬ 
ing frequent and fervent acts of faith ? Have 
I not been careless in seeking instruction in the 
truths of the faith? Have I instantly put from 
me any doubt of the faith or any thought con¬ 
trary to it ? Have I never exposed myself to 
the risk of losing my faith by reading danger- 


5 2 


Examination of Conscience. 


ous books without permission or by listening 
to the conversation of those among my sisters 
whose faith is weak or wavering ? A nun 
ought to live by faith. Have I not sinned 
against Christian hope by want of trust in God, 
through discouragement, through despair; 
through indifference in regard to my own per¬ 
fection and the salvation of my soul; through 
presumption, under the pretence that God 
easily forgives ? O, what hope ought not a 
nun to have who has left all things for the sake 
of a generous God, if she is but faithful to 
the obligations she has taken upon herself ! 

Have I not transgressed against charity, by 
carelessness in making acts of charity, by pre¬ 
serving a tendency to sin, by living in a state 
of tepidity, by indulging sentiments of indif¬ 
ference to God and to His law ? A nun who 
does not love a God who has given so many 
proofs of His love for her is a wretched crea¬ 
ture indeed ! 

Have I not sinned against religion by want 
of devotion during the time set apart for pious 
exercises, by voluntary distractions in prayer, 
want of reverence for holy places, disobedi- 


Examination of Conscience. 


53 


ence in regard to some command of the 
Church, exceeding the limits imposed by my 
vows, careless use of consecrated objects, mis¬ 
use of the sacraments,by making careless con¬ 
fessions and bad communions ? 

“ Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord 
thy God in vain, nor swear lightly by God, or 
by anything else.” 

Have I never in a thoughtless moment 
so far forgotten myself as to utter certain im¬ 
proper expressions which every Christian 
ought to shrink with horror from pronounc¬ 
ing ? Have I never invoked the name of God 
in order to prove the truth of that which I 
knew to be false, or to confirm the truth of 
what was indeed true, but was not of sufficient 
importance to warrant me in calling upon God 
to be a witness to it ? 

Have I never uttered blasphemous expres¬ 
sions by speaking against God and His saints? 
Have I not very frequently had the holy name 
of God upon my lips without having any pious 
thought in my heart ? Ought not a nun to 
treat this most holy name with the profound- 
est respect ? 


1 54 Examination of Conscience. 

“ Thou shalt keep holy Sundays and holy- 
days by serving God with piety.” 

Have I given more time to pious exercises 
on Sundays and holydays than on other days, 
and have I performed these devotions in a 
spirit of more than ordinary reverence ? Have 
I been filled with devotion during the whole 
time occupied by Holy Mass ? Have I not 
availed myself of some petty pretexts in order 
to occupy myself in forbidden employments 
on Sundays and holydays? Have I not been 
during these holy seasons, more than usually 
distracted and full-of faults, less a nun and less 
a Christian ? 

“ Thou shalt honor thy father and thy 
mother, that thou mayst be long-lived upon 
the land.” 

Have I in regard to my parents and rela¬ 
tives been wanting in the affection and esteem 
which I owe them ? Have I not loved them 
inordinately, obeyed them in things which are 
forbidden, and seen them too frequently in the 
parlor, spending too much time in their so¬ 
ciety ? Have I not conversed with them about 
frivolous and even worldly matters ? Have I 


Examination of Conscience. 155 

nourished a secret hatred towards some one of 
them ? Or have I openly shown this hatred ? 

Have I endeavored to advance their spirit¬ 
ual progress by praying for them, striving to 
turn them from what is evil and to lead them 
to what is good, by means of earnest prayer, 
edifying example, and wise advice ? 

Have I not frequently sinned against those 
to whom I owe obedience, and against my 
confessor, through want of respect, obedience, 
and charity ? Have I sincerely loved my sis¬ 
ters in religion for God’s sake, and have I 
shown them my love by my deeds, my words, 
and my whole deportment ? Have I from re¬ 
ligious motives taken their faults upon my¬ 
self ? Is there no one who has just reason to 
complain of me ? Is there no one for whom 
I entertain an aversion ? Have I struggled 
against this feeling of aversion ? Have I ex¬ 
pressed it to others ? And what has been the 
result of my conduct ? 

“ Thou shalt not kill, either in deed or in 
desire.” 

Have I not injured my own health or that 
of others, either intentionally or through care- 


156 Examination of Conscience. 

lessness ? Have I not desired my own death 
from ill-temper or discontent ? Have I not 
caused the death of some one’s soul, either by 

the scandal I have caused when I have led 

% 

others to sin, or been the accomplice of their 
guilt, by carelessness in leaving that undone 
which I owed to my neighbor in order to pro¬ 
mote her salvation ? How terrible to think 
that a nun should be guilty of the loss of an 
immortal soul ! 

“ Thou shalt not be unchaste either in thy 
body or thy soul.” 

Have I never sinned against the angelic 
virtue, which ought to be so dear to a nun, 
by thoughts, inclinations, desires, expressions, 
acts, the reading of bad books, undue familiar¬ 
ities, guilty freedom ? 

“ Thou shalt not appropriate the goods be¬ 
longing to others, nor unjustly retain them.” 

Have I not sinned by taking little things not 
meant for me ? Have I not kept for myself 
articles which I have found, or delayed restor¬ 
ing them to their proper places, or have I not 
neglected or postponed the payment of my 
debts ? Have I not injured my neighbor, if 


Examination of Conscience. 


157 


not in a direct manner by my own acts, yet by 
aiding those who injured her by my advice, or 
in any other way; as for instance, by neglect¬ 
ing to perform my appointed duties at the 
proper time ? 

“ Thou shalt neither bear false witness nor 
tell lies.” 

Alas ! how many lies are uttered under the 
pretext that they can do no one any harm! How 
frequently through detraction are the faults 
and sins of others exposed to view when they 
ought to have been concealed ! 

Have I never been guilty of slander ? And 
what have been the motives which induced me 
to commit so grievous a sin ? 


WHAT IS THE INTENT OF THE OBEDIENCE 
WHICH A NUN OWES TO THE CHURCH ? 

Have I never transgressed the commands of 
the Church ? How have I prepared myself for 
my Easter confession ? As regards fasting, 
have I strictly fasted at the seasons appointed 
by the Church or by the Rule, on the ember 


5« 


Examination of Conscience. 


days and the eves of feasts, thus entering into 
the spirit of the Church ? 

Have I always abstained from flesh-meat on 
the days when it is forbidden ? 

UPON THE OBSERVANCE OF THE RULES OF 
THE ORDER. 

Have I highly esteemed the rules and regu¬ 
lations of my holy state ? Am I deeply pene¬ 
trated with a sense of the obligation I am un¬ 
der to observe them faithfully, even in those 
lesser points which do not bind under pain of 
sin ? Have I not failed in this respect through 
carelessness ? And did not my distractions 
cause me to be guilty of this carelessness ? 
When my failure has been due to weakness, 
have I at once humbled myself before God, 
as the smallest faults are opposed to the 
perfection at which I ought to aim ? Have I 
not voluntarily transgressed them from negli¬ 
gence or tepidity and thus rendered myself 
guilty of venial sins by reason of the great 
offence I have given to God and the grievous 
harm I have done to my neighbor ? 


Examination of Conscience. 159 

Has it not become a habit with me to trans¬ 
gress this or that point so that I have exposed 
myself to the danger of despising them alto¬ 
gether, and thus falling into terrible sin ? 

Can a nun possibly be in a right state of 
mind who does not keep the promise she has 
made to live according to the Rule of her 
Order ? 

Have I not led other nuns to transgress 
their holy Rule, either by my bad example or 
by the tone and manner in which I have 
spoken of it, showing thereby how slight an 
esteem I felt for it ? From what motive have 
I been unfaithful to the Rule ? Was it not 
from human respect ? If I happened to be in 
the parlor when the bell summoned me to 

f 

some important religious exercise, such as 
Mass, saying Holy Office, or prayer, have I 
not lingered where I was, instead of obeying 
the call at once and hastening to engage in 
the appointed duty ? And wherefore have I 
thus acted ? From the fear of being consid¬ 
ered scrupulous, or from a wish to prolong the 
pleasure of conversing with persons belonging 
to the outside world ? 


160 Examination of Conscience, 

Have I not asked to be dispensed from the 
observance of certain points of the Rule and 
conventual regulations without sufficient rea¬ 
son for my request, and indeed only because 
I found them wearisome ? Have I not in¬ 
dulged myself in these particulars, even when 
leave to do so was refused me ? 

Have I contented myself with keeping the 
holy Rule in the letter only, without placing 
before my mind a supernatural motive for so 
doing ? 


UPON THE VOW OF POVERTY. 

Have I exposed myself to the danger of 
transgressing the vow of poverty through neg¬ 
lecting to seek instruction upon the weighty 
obligations which those who pronounce this 
vow take upon themselves? Have I never for¬ 
gotten that in this vow of poverty I solemnly 
promised almighty God not only to renounce 
all property and possession of temporal goods, 
rights, and claims which I might have, but also 
the power to dispose of them or make use 


Examination of Conscience. 161 

of them without the permission of my su¬ 
perior ? 

Have I entirely divested myself of all tem¬ 
poral possessions, and have I been moderate 
and careful in my use of those things which 
I had permission to appropriate ? 

Have I never asked my relatives for any¬ 
thing without necessity and without the per¬ 
mission of my superior ? Have I never on 
my own responsibility accepted for myself 
something of value ? If I accepted anything 
given to the community but intended for my 
exclusive use, did I always ask permission to 
do so ? Have I never sold, given away, or 
exchanged things which I had received per¬ 
mission to use ? If I have received any such 
permission, have I been fully persuaded that 
every article of whatever description belonged 
to the community and was not destined for my 
sole use; that the superior could dispose of it 
for the benefit of the community ? When I 
asked permission to make use of it, did I so 
act in the full persuasion that I had no right 
of ownership in regard to it ? 

When I stood in need of anything, and laid 


162 Examination of Conscience . 

my case before my superior, was I quite pre¬ 
pared to receive a negative answer in case she 
should see fit to refuse my request ? Have I 
taken portions of food without permission ? 
Have I abstracted delicacies from the pantry 
in order to eat them when alone in my cell or 
to give them away ? 

Have I not kept in my cell money or other 
articles of value which had been left there 
without informing my superior of the fact ? 

Have I not bestowed upon the poor or upon 
nuns various articles which had been assigned 
me for my own use, without the permission of 
my superior ? 

When I have accepted some present with¬ 
out waiting to obtain leave to do so, have I 
hastened to acquaint my superior of the fact ? 
Have I not endeavored to obtain for myself 
useless and unnecessary things, persuading 
myself all the while that some general permis¬ 
sion which had been accorded me justified me 
in what I was doing ? Have I not given away 
just as I pleased small pieces of needlework 
which the superior had given me leave to 
make ? Have I been in the habit of making 


Examination of Conscience. 


163 


presents, and in whose name have I done so ? 
Have I never through my own fault lost, 
spoiled, or wasted anything? Have I practised 
interior poverty ? Am I entirely free from all 
attachment to temporal possessions, and even 
to such necessary articles as have been set 
apart for my use ? Are the graces and virtues 
which constitute the riches of the soul the 
whole object of my desires here upon earth ? 
Do I long for God and for Him only ? 

UPON THE VOW OF CHASTITY. 

Through the vow of chastity I made a sol¬ 
emn promise to God that I would dedicate to 
Him in unspotted purity my body, mind, and 
heart by holding aloof from all occasions of 
sin, and resisting all temptations opposed to 
this virtue. Have I never been unfaithful to 
my vow ? Have I regarded sins against chas¬ 
tity as shameful and horrible sins, which in¬ 
variably bring about the death of the soul, if 
they are voluntarily committed ? 

Have I never of my own free will and with 
a feeling of pleasure indulged in a train of 


164 Examination of Conscience. 

thought opposed to holy purity under the pre¬ 
text that I had not the slightest desire to com¬ 
mit the base action upon which I was meditat¬ 
ing ? Have I not at least been careless in 
repelling such thoughts and checking the 
pleasurable emotions which they excited in 
me ? 

Have I never deliberately entertained crimi¬ 
nal desires ? To what object were they di¬ 
rected ? Have I not dwelt upon them at 
length and repeatedly ? Have I not dese¬ 
crated the purity of my body, every member of 
which belongs to Jesus Christ, by impure and 
immodest glances ? Have I not given cause 
for impure dreams, and if such dreams have 
visited me without any fault of my own, have 
I looked back upon them with aversion ? 
Have I not been too free in my speech ? Have 
I constantly fled from everything which could 
expose me to temptation, namely, wandering 
looks, the perusal of dangerous books or por¬ 
tions of such books, the society of persons who 
are not careful what they say, improper ges¬ 
tures, immodest attitudes, prolonged conver¬ 
sations with worldly persons, too great friend- 


Examination of Conscience . 165 

liness in regard to those to whom one is natu¬ 
rally attracted, want of due care in the pres¬ 
ence of children, freedoms which violate 
modesty, excess in eating, idleness, want of 
mortification ? Have I made use of the means 
which never fail to maintain and keep guard 
over purity, namely: constant watchfulness in 
regard to my exterior senses and the interior 
movements of my soul, mortification in all 
things, earnest and persevering prayer, and a 
great devotion to the Blessed Virgin, who is 
the Mother of all purity ? In seasons of temp¬ 
tation have I sought to resist the evil one in 
every possible way by at once seeking refuge 
in God, by imploring the succor of Mary, by 
making an act of contrition, and renewing my 
vow of chastity ? 

UPON THE VOW OF OBEDIENCE. 

Through the vow of obedience I made a 
solemn promise to God that I would obey my 
superiors in all things, provided their com¬ 
mands were in accordance with the rules and 
regulations of the Order. 


166 Examination of Conscience. 

When I uttered this vow did I renounce my 
will and my liberty in order to submit to every¬ 
thing which obedience might prescribe for the 
right ordering of the community, for the im¬ 
provement of my character, and for my prog¬ 
ress in virtue ? 

According to this vow a voluntary act of 
disobedience in a weighty matter is a mortal 
sin and an act of sacrilege, because it is the 
violation of a vow made before the altar of 
God, and at the same time a wrong done to 
the Most High. 

Have I never been guilty of this sin ? Have 
I, without asking the consent of my superior, 
taken vows calculated to disturb the good or¬ 
der of the community to which I belong ? 

Have I been obedient to my superior in all 
things, being convinced that she stands to me 
in the place of God, and that in obeying her I 
am obeying God Himself ? Without regard 
to her good or evil qualities, have I, in thus 
acting, only sought to fulfil the will of God ? 
Has the desire of pleasing God enabled me to 
rise above the feelings of nature when I felt a 
strong repugnance to carry out the commands 


Examination of Conscience. 


167 


of my superior, because no possible sympathy 
existed between her character and my own ? 
Have I never done anything solely on account 
of the affection I felt for my superior, or be¬ 
cause her commands fell in with my own in¬ 
clinations, or should I perhaps have failed to 
carry them out if it had not been pleasant to 
do so ? 

If I found myself obliged to make a repre¬ 
sentation to my superior in regard to the or¬ 
ders she had given me, did I do this with hu¬ 
mility and with a determination to obey, 
should she insist upon my doing so ? 

Was it not self-love or attachment to my 
own will which prompted me to make these 
representations ? Have I obeyed her com¬ 
mands without allowing myself to criticise the 
motives of them, without delaying to execute 
them, without allowing my mind to become 
perturbed, without permitting my reluctance 
and annoyance to be perceived, but carrying 
them out courageously without any indul¬ 
gence of self ? Have I not sometimes mur¬ 
mured against my superior even in public, and 
found fault with the manner and method of 


168 Examination of Conscience . 

her government ? When I have been doubt¬ 
ful whether the command of my superior was 
in accordance with the holy Rule, have I al¬ 
ways decided her to be in the right ? 

Have I laid aside my doubts, moulded my 
conscience in conformity to hers, and obeyed 
her ? Have I not disobeyed her in relation to 
points which she regarded as necessary and 
desirable for the due observance of the holy 
Rule, under the pretence that what she com¬ 
manded me to do was not contained in it ? 
When the superior general ordered me to do 
something which was contrary to directions 
I had received from my own superior, have 
I obeyed the superior general rather than my 
superior, who is subject to her ? 

Have I not in a spirit of self-will refused to 
take upon myself certain offices in spite of the 
express command of my superior, which de¬ 
sired me to occupy them ? In order to avoid 
the sin of disobedience have I made every 
effort to tear the sin up by the roots, these 
roots being attachment to my own will and a 
slight esteem for my superior and the holy 
Rule ? Have I frequently meditated upon the 


Examination of Conscience . 


169 


terrible nature of the sin of disobedience, upon 
the sad results and fearful punishments which 
follow upon it, as well as upon the value and 
advantages of the virtue of obedience ? 

Have I read pious books which treat of this 
subject ? 

UPON THE CONVENTUAL ENCLOSURE. 

Have I strictly kept the conventual en¬ 
closure as our holy Rule and the constitutions 
have appointed ? Have I wilfully exceeded 
the relaxations of the enclosure which are per¬ 
mitted for the sake of education and the train¬ 
ing of young people, or misused them in order 
to obtain a culpable liberty ? 

Have I, when obedience required me to go 
beyond the bounds of the convent, been all 
the more careful to observe custody of the 
heart and of the senses ? 

UPON THE ELECTION TO POSTS IN THE 
CONVENT. 

Have I voted for those whom I believed to 
possess the requisite qualifications for filling 
aright the posts in the convent ? 


170 Examination of Conscience. 

Have I by means of prayer and increased 
diligence in the performance of my duties pre¬ 
pared myself beforehand to be enlightened by 
the Holy Ghost ? Have I, at the time of elec¬ 
tion, listened to the voice of relationship, of 
friendship, of selfishness, of timidity ? 

Have I not refused to give my vote to some 
particular nun who possessed all the requisite 
qualifications for the vacant post because I dis¬ 
liked her or because I was afraid she would 
insist upon the strict observance of the Rule ? 
Have I not striven to obtain for myself the 
place of superior, or other posts ? Have I not 
desired them ? Have I regarded myself as 
unworthy to fill them ? 

UPON SAYING HOLY OFFICE. 

Have I not, either voluntarily or from care¬ 
lessness, omitted to say my Office or part of it 
at least, when it was not possible for me to re¬ 
cite it in choir with the others ? 

Have I not contented myself with saying 
the Office in private, although I had no ade¬ 
quate reason for abstaining from reciting ; t in 
choir with the other nuns ? 


Examination of Conscience . 171 

Have I not omitted to say Holy Office on 
account of some slight ailment, which could 
not make the recital of it really injurious to 
me ? 

After my recovery from an illness which had 
dispensed me from saying my Office did I re¬ 
sume my duty in this respect as soon as my 
strength permitted me to do so ? 

Did I whilst pronouncing the words of the 
Office reflect upon the meaning of those 
words ? Have I sought to render them ap¬ 
plicable to the state of my soul ? Have I 
striven to penetrate the spirit of the prayers ? 

Whilst engaged in prayer have I not per¬ 
mitted myself to indulge in voluntary distrac¬ 
tions ? In order to avoid such distractions, 
have I made use of the proper means : 
such as careful preparation before engaging 
in prayer, divesting myself of all earthly in¬ 
clinations, and whilst repeating each Gloria 
Patri, etc., renewing my good resolution of be¬ 
longing to God alone ? 

Have I not altered the order of the Office ? 
Have I not interrupted the recitation of it 
without sufficient cause ? 


172 Examination of Conscience. 

The Holy Office is a vocal prayer; have I 
repeated it clearly without undue haste, re¬ 
membering to bow my head at every mention 
of the holy names ? Have I been careful not 
to mutter the words or pronounce them indis¬ 
tinctly ? 

UPON VOCAL PRAYER AND PRAYER IN 
GENERAL. 

Have I followed the teaching of Jesus 
Christ, which is specially applicable to nuns: 
“ Ye ought always to pray ” ? Have I, in or¬ 
der to fulfil this command, constantly medi¬ 
tated upon the life eternal, sighed to think 
that I am far from my Father’s house, ear¬ 
nestly longed after the possession of God, and 
in order to attain this, performed all my ac¬ 
tions as in His presence, from supernatural 
motives and in union with Jesus Christ? Have 
I yielded to the distaste, dryness, and dis¬ 
couragement which I experienced during my 
seasons of prayer and other religious exer¬ 
cises, instead of uniting myself with Our Lord 
Jesus Christ in the Garden of Olives, and per- 


Examination of Conscience. 173 

severing in humble confidence ? Have I at 
times altogether given up my prayers and 
other profitable religious practices from the 
motives mentioned above ? Among the dis¬ 
tractions with which I was beset during my 
prayers and religious exercises, were there not 
some which were voluntary, because I pur¬ 
posely turned from my prayer in order to 
think of my appointed duties and various other 
things ? Were not these voluntary distrac¬ 
tions the result of my ill-regulated feelings, my 
continued attachment to the things of the 
world ? Have I kept my heart continually 
raised to God, especially during my seasons of 
meditation ? 

Have I given my undivided attention to 
vocal prayers when set forms of prayer had to 
be repeated ? Have I made use of vocal 
prayer during seasons of dryness or when un¬ 
usual activity of mind gave me cause to dread 
distractions ? Have I been careful to seek to 
be thoroughly instructed upon the subject of 
prayer and £ead books which treated of it, in 
order that I might learn how to pray aright ? 
Have I conversed upon this all-important 


i74 Examination of Conscience. 

subject with nuns who possess the gift of 
prayer? 

Have I never betaken myself to prayer with¬ 
out due preparation ? Since a nun ought to 
be a child of prayer, have I not, as soon as I 
had concluded my devotions, unnecessarily de¬ 
voted my attention to very different matters, 
and thus exposed myself to the danger of los¬ 
ing the precious fruit of my prayers ? 

UPON THE CHARITY WHICH IT BECOMES THE 
CHRISTIAN AND THE RELIGIOUS TO 
PRACTISE. 

Do I truly love my sisters in religion 
without any exception, and do I thus love 
them according to the will of God ? Have I 
proved my affection for them by rendering 
them at the proper time all those external ser 
vices which it depended upon me to pay them? 

Have I never allowed myself to be influ¬ 
enced by the feelings of dislike and aversion 
which nature has caused me to entertain in re¬ 
gard to some of them ? Have I overlooked 
their faults from motives of charity as I wish 
mine to be overlooked ? Has not my zeal for 


Examination of Conscience, 175 

the observance of the Rule led me to sin 
against charity by speaking in an unkind man¬ 
ner to those who have broken it, by scolding 
them harshly, and showing them the contempt 
I felt for them ? What a mistaken zeal was 
mine ! Have I not wrongfully judged them 
through putting an evil construction upon all 
they did ? Have I revenged myself for some 
hasty words or for the refusal of some slight 
service by contemptuous behavior, slander, or 
some other similar means ? Have I not nour¬ 
ished hatred against them in my heart ? Have 
I not cherished it for a long time ? Have I 
allowed it to appear ? Have I given scandal 
by so doing ? Have persons living outside the 
convent heard of it ? Have I done everything 
which lay in my power to atone for my con¬ 
duct ? Have I not given cause for the sus¬ 
picion that my reconciliation was not sincere, 
by continuing to treat the object of my hatred 
with coldness and refusing to speak to her ? 

Have I borne with patience everything cal¬ 
culated to set me against those with whom I 
live and work ? Have I given them no cause 
to entertain prejudice against myself ? Do I 


176 Examination of Conscience. 

often reflect upon the wise saying: “ Fear to 
cause suffering to any one, and prefer that 
every one should cause you suffering ”? Have 
I carefully striven to avoid the particular 
friendships which are forbidden in all convents 
and which are so opposed to charity, being the 
fruitful causes of disorder, disunion, envy, 
tale-bearing, detraction, and aversion ? Have 
I not ascribed to certain persons faults which 
they have never committed ? also failings 
which they did not possess, expressing myself 
at the same time in exaggerated language ? 
Have I not exposed their sins and faults with¬ 
out necessity, and thus diminished the esteem 
in which they were held ? Have I not at¬ 
tributed evil motives even to their best ac¬ 
tions ? Have I not slandered them in a nega¬ 
tive manner by not telling all the good I ought 
to have told about them, by denying their vir¬ 
tuous qualities, speaking of them in a slight¬ 
ing tone, abstaining from praising them when 
I ought to have done so, or praising them in 
a cold and heartless manner ? Have I not led 
others to slander, and strengthened them in 
their sinful conduct by my approval of it ? 


Examination of Conscience . 


177 


Have I opposed myself to slanderers and have 
I, if they were my subordinates, ordered them 
to be silent and at once turned the conversa¬ 
tion, or ceased altogether to speak, showing 
my displeasure by my looks, withdrawing my¬ 
self altogether from the conversation, if it was 
possible for me to do so ? Have I not listened 
to slander from malicious pleasure or fear of 
man ? Have I done my very utmost to re¬ 
store the reputation of the persons whom I 
have brought into disrepute through these 
wicked calumnies and slanders ? When any 
persons were talked against in my presence 
have I added whatever I might have heard 
against them to the general condemnation ? 
Have not these reports caused dissension, dis¬ 
union, and hostilities in the community ? 
Have I immediately dismissed from my mind 
these rash judgments, doubts, and jealousies ? 
Have I not repeated to others these disadvan¬ 
tageous suppositions which were founded 
upon no sufficient basis ? 


Examination of Conscience. 


178 


UPON CONFESSION. 

Have I not occasionally failed to accuse my¬ 
self of some mortal sin through want of due 
self-examination ? Have I examined myself 
in regard to my bad habits, daily acts of un¬ 
faithfulness, upon my past and present tenden¬ 
cies, in regard to the virtues I ought to ac¬ 
quire, the vices against which I ought to 
struggle, and my customary and special du¬ 
ties ? Have I spent about a quarter of an hour 
in this examination when preparing for a 
weekly confession ? Have I earnestly im¬ 
plored the Holy Spirit to teach me to discover 
my sins and to regard them with abhorrence ? 
Have I not been to confession merely from 
habit, only to relieve my conscience, without 
any real hatred of sin, without a firm resolu¬ 
tion to employ every means in order not again 
to fall into it ? 

Have I not frequently been to confession 
without true contrition for the venial sins of 
which I had been guilty, and without a firm 
purpose of amendment in regard to them ? 

Have I been careful in accusing myself of 


Examination of Conscience. 179 

some particular sin of my past life in order 
to increase the sense of contrition ? Have I 
endeavored to awaken in my soul perfect con¬ 
trition ? What have I done with this object in 
view ? Have I not too often been satisfied 
with a mere vocal repetition of the act of con¬ 
trition, unaccompanied by sincere repent¬ 
ance ? 

Have not fear and a sense of shame withheld 
me from mentioning in the confessional sins 
which I knew to be mortal or in regard to 
which I had doubts whether they were mortal 
sins or not ? Have I at a subsequent period 
confessed these sins and at the same time 
pleaded guilty to having concealed them ? 
Have I repeated all the confessions I had made 
since that time? When I have, through for¬ 
getfulness, omitted to mention a mortal sin, 
have I accused myself of it the first time I went 
to confession ? 

Have I been obedient in following the ad¬ 
vice of my confessor, and have I listened 
calmly to all which he said to me ? 


i8o 


Examination of Conscience. 


UPON HOLY COMMUNION. 

What has induced me to approach the holy 
table ? Have I not approached it because it 
is customary to do so, not because I desired to 
unite myself closely to Jesus Christ, to live His 
life, to be filled with His thoughts, to be 
changed into His likeness ? Have I prepared 
myself for holy communion in the manner 
which this Most Blessed Sacrament requires? 
Have I made some sacrifices before communi¬ 
cating ? Have I been full of faith ? Has my 
progress in perfection been in proportion to 
the frequency of my communions ? 

Have I communicated just as often as is 
customary in the convent, if my confessor con¬ 
sidered it desirable that I should do so ? Have 
I not neglected to go to communion under 
the pretence of reverence or on account of the 
disturbed state of my mind, but in reality from 
idleness, obstinacy, or want of love to Jesus 
Christ and desire for the salvation of my soul ? 

When I have had real cause for uneasiness 
have I conferred with my confessor concern¬ 
ing it and acquainted him with its cause ? 


Examination of Conscience. 181 

Have I given little heed to the scandal which 
I might cause in the community by omitting 
to go to communion on one of the appointed 
days ? Have I ever been guilty of a terrible 
and fearful act of sacrilege by going to holy 
communion when I was conscious of having 
made an invalid confession ? 

UPON SCRUPLES. 

If I am conscious that a melancholy 'tem¬ 
perament disposes me to entertain scruples, so 
that I am naturally inclined to be timid and 
fearful, do I endeavor to correct this failing; 
do I seek clearly to understand the distinc¬ 
tions by which Christians are taught to judge 
between mortal and venial sin ? Do I often 
meditate upon the motives I have for loving 
God, putting my trust in Him, rejoicing in 
Him ? 

Am I persuaded that scruples come from 
the devil, if I refuse to obey those who in re¬ 
gard to me are the earthly representatives of 
God ? Have I been completely obedient to 
my confessor by avoiding all which he com- 


182 Examination of Conscience. 

mantled me to avoid, and by doing everything 
which he desired me to do, that thus I might 
treat temptations with contempt, be diligent 
in prayer, frequently make the sign of the 
cross over my heart, and accept as a punish¬ 
ment for my sins the interior sufferings which 
temptations caused me ? 

UPON PERFECTION. 

Have I been truly zealous concerning my 
own perfection ? Religious perfection con¬ 
sists in keeping the vows and the Rule with 
great exactness and in a spirit of love; in per¬ 
forming every action, even the most trifling, 
with the intention of pleasing God; in fre¬ 
quently making an act of faith from the bot¬ 
tom of one’s heart; in the practice of con¬ 
tinualwatchfulness over one’s self; of complete 
self-abnegation, of prompt obedience, of pro¬ 
found humility, and of unalterable meekness 
and gentleness. Do I labor in this manner at 
my own perfection ? Am I desirous of work¬ 
ing at it in this manner ? Have I a sincere 
wish to become perfect ? Am I convinced 


Examination of Conscience. 183 

that it is my duty to strive after perfection, 
and that I shall never attain to the perfection 
of my state if I despise and neglect small 
things, even the minutest details of my Rule 
and the constitutions of the Order ? 

AN EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE FOR A 
SUPERIOR. 

1. In regard to herself. 

Did I dread the office of superior? Or have 
I not desired it ? Have I not acted with a 
view to being raised to it ? Am I convinced 
that I am unworthy of it ? Do I only bear 
this heavy burden in order to fulfil the will of 
God ? Have I become more humble since I 
was placed at the head of my sisters? Do I 
impose upon others duties which in my char¬ 
acter of superior I am bound to perform my¬ 
self? 

2. In regard to others. 

Do I-not hold too much intercourse with 
seculars ? Are not my duties imperfectly per¬ 
formed on this account ? Do I edify those 
with whom it is my duty to have intercourse 
by my observance of the holy Rule, by my 


184 Examination of Conscience. 

kindness and charity, by the pious tone of my 
conversation ? Have I the heart of a loving 
mother for all the nuns under my charge ? 
Has the attachment which I feel for them its 
origin in God, and do I seek, in accordance 
with the character of each one, to employ every 
means in my power in order to lead them to 
practise all the virtues of a Christian and of a 
nun ? 

Am I certain that they are all duly in¬ 
structed in regard to the duties and obliga¬ 
tions of their holy state ? Do I not show 
preference for some and perhaps even for 
those who are least punctual in the perform¬ 
ance of their duties ? 

Have I not allowed myself to be prejudiced 
against some of the nuns ? Does not my want 
of zeal and perseverance induce me to tolerate 
abuses, and prevent me from upholding order 
and a strict observance of the Rule ? 

Do I not, through my lack of gentleness, 
mingle an element of bitterness in the manner 
in which I reprove those who have been guilty 
of some fault ? Does not my want of charity 
lead me to do many things which are calcu- 


Examination of Conscience. 185 

lated to close against me the hearts of those 
whose confidence it ought to be my constant 
endeavor to win ? 

Has not want of judgment led me to speak 
of things about which it would have been 
more prudent to be silent, and to say much 
which was calculated to give offence to some 
of the nuns ? Do I appoint to the various 
offices solely with regard to the good of the 
community and to the merit and capacity of 
those who are appointed ? 

Do I, by my observance of the holy Rule 
and all its precepts, edify those to whom I am 
an example in virtue of my position, so that all 
may be able to say: “No nun in the house is 
more careful and punctual in the observance 
of the Rule than our superior ”? 

(Yet it ought to be impressed upon all nuns 
that a superior may frequently have duties 
which clash with one another, and may thus 
appear to neglect som2 injunction of the Rule, 
while she is, in reality, fulfilling some impor¬ 
tant duty, and that on this account her sub¬ 
jects ought always to be extremely careful in 
their judgments of her.) 


186 Examination of Conscience. 

j. In regard to God. 

Do I earnestly desire that He may be fer¬ 
vently served by the various persons over 
whom I am placed? What do I do in order to 
induce them thus to act ? Do I offer them to 
God ? Do I constantly strive to be a media¬ 
trix between them and their Creator, in order 
to turn away the effects of His anger against 
those who offend Him, and to draw down 
upon all the graces of which they may sever¬ 
ally stand in need ? Do I regard Jesus Christ 
as the real Head of the community by never 
forming any important decision without hav¬ 
ing commended to Him the act I am about to 
perform ? 


ACT OF CONTRITION OF A TRULY PENITENT 
NUN. 

O my Creator, who has made me! O God, 
whom I no longer dare to call my God! O 
Father of mercies! what malice, what wicked¬ 
ness dost Thou behold in Thy creature, a 
creature moreover whom Thou hast so highly 
favored, whom, out of a special love for her. 


Examination of Conscience. 187 

Thou hast led into solitude in order that she 
might be Thy beloved spouse and belong 
wholly to Thee! O faithless spouse ! O mis¬ 
erable sinner ! How can I have allowed my¬ 
self to forget, to abandon, to despise, to 
offend Him whom I had chosen to be the 
God of my heart, my portion and my inherit¬ 
ance, my God and my All, to whom I have 
dedicated myself by such solemn vows ! Mer¬ 
ciful Jesus ! have mercy upon me ! Thou 
dost read the depths of my soul; behold my 
confusion, my grief, and—dare I add ?—be¬ 
hold also my love ! 

Am I deceiving myself, O Lord ? Am I 
blind as to my real state ? Can that which I 
perceive in myself be only the effect of a 
heated imagination and not the fruit of true 
penitence ? Thou art almighty ! Cause the 
tears which flow from my eyes to come also 
from my heart. I repent of my sins, of all my 
sins without exception ! I repent of them and 
detest them, because on account of them I 
have deserved to be shut out of heaven, where 
the beatific vision of Thee is to be enjoyed, 
and cast into hell, where Thou art blasphemed. 


188 


Examination of Conscience. 


I detest them, because I have been ungrate¬ 
ful to my infinite Benefactor; because I have 
crucified afresh Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, 
who shed His blood for me; because I have 
offended Thee, my Father, who on account 
of Thy infinite perfections art the supreme 
loveliness, the chiefest and most attractive of 
all that is good. Rather would I die, O my 
God ! than deliberately offend Thee, rather 
would I die than displease Thee, and the less 
I have hitherto loved Thee the more will I 
strive in future to show my love to Thee by 
faithfully keeping all Thy commandments ! 

Give me grace, O my God, that I may 
carry out my resolution ! 


THE GREAT INJURY WHICH VENIAL SINS 
CAUSE TO THE SOUL. 

They darken the understanding and impede 
our growth in the knowledge of God. 

They diminish the fervor of our love to 
God. 

They render our prayers less likely to be 
heard. 


Examination of Conscience . 


189 


They stain the soul. 

They grieve the Holy Spirit, and rejoice the 
devil. 

They deprive us of all delight in intercourse 
with God. 

They gradually lead to mortal sin. 

They weaken our will, and render it more 
difficult for us to resist our evil propensities. 

They make us slothful in the practice of 
virtue. 

They incline our hearts to the things of this 
world. 

They prepare for us terrible sufferings in . 
purgatory. 

They retard the blissful moment when we 
shall attain to the possession of God in heaven. 

O my God ! rather would I die a thousand 
deaths than deliberately commit one venial 
sin. 


PART IV. 


DEVOTIONS FOR MASS, FOR THE USE OF 
RELIGIOUS. 


CHAPTER I. 

A METHOD OF HEARING MASS FOR NON¬ 
COMMUNICANTS. 

On Going into the Choir to Hear Holy Mass. 

I am about to be present at this sublime 
sacrifice ! How sacred are these mysteries, 
how great is the profit I may derive from 
them! What profound recollection is re¬ 
quired of me ! Help me, O my God, in order 
that I may be penetrated with the same senti¬ 
ments which Mary experienced while stand¬ 
ing at the foot of the cross. After hear¬ 
ing Holy Mass ought I not to be a perfect 
religious? 



Mass for Non-communicants. 191 

An Act of Oblation before the Commencement of 
Mass. 

O my God, Thou art indeed worthy to be 
the God of my heart; I desire to be present 
at this Holy Mass in a spirit of the deepest 
reverence and most profound piety; Thou 
hast inspired me with this desire, but I am un¬ 
able to carry it out without the aid of Thy 
grace; and I therefore humbly implore Thee 
to bestow it upon me. 

I offer up to Thee this sublime sacrifice in 
union with Jesus Christ, who is both Priest 
and Victim, in union with the Church tri¬ 
umphant, the militant and the suffering 
Church. I rejoice that Thou shouldst be 
worthily honored by means of this perfect ob¬ 
lation; that Thou shouldst be suitably 
thanked by means of this thank-offering, for 
all the benefits Thou hast bestowed upon me; 
that satisfaction should be made by means of 
this sacrifice of propitiation for the many sins 
of which I have been guilty; that by means 
of this sacrifice of supplication I may obtain 
a right to expect from Thee every grace of 
which I stand in need; that by means of this 


192 


Dev oiio ns for Mass. 


sublime sacrifice the mystery of the cross may 
be renewed to Thy glory and the sanctifica¬ 
tion of my soul. 

Deign, O Lord, to apply to me the merits 
of the same. Do Thou so sanctify and purify 
my mind and heart, that from this day forward 
I may be a perfect religious, and I fervently 
beseech Thee to grant that this may be the 
case. 


FIRST PART. FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF 
MASS TO THE EPISTLE. 

At the Introit. 

Already have I entered the house of God; 
the holy state of religion is the house of the 
Lord; God has called me to it through a 
special love for me. Would that I could duly 
appreciate the greatness of my privilege ! But 
what, O my God, will it profit me to be a re¬ 
ligious if I am not a perfect religious? Make 
me worthy, when I have drawn my last breath, 
to enter at once into Thy everlasting habita¬ 
tions. 


Mass for Non-communicants. 


193 


At the Conhtcor and the Kyrie. 

Most sacred Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost, have mercy on me! I deserve neither 
the name of nun nor that of Christian. I am 
nothing but a sinner, yet I repent of all my 
sins. Thou art merciful, O Lord! have com¬ 
passion on me according to the multitude of 
Thy mercies! 

At the Gloria. 

Glory be to Thee, O Lord ! I desire to 
glorify Thee, my God, and to promote Thy 
glory by sanctifying all my actions, and con¬ 
stantly forming in my soul acts of piety; for 
I belong wholly to Thee because I am Thy 
creature, because I am a Christian, and be¬ 
cause I am a nun. I will do all that in me lies 
to promote Thy honor. O, could I win all 
souls to glorify Thee and all hearts to love 
Thee ! I will especially strive to cause Thee 
to be loved by all the nuns among whom it is 
my privilege to live, and with this end in view 
I will frequently pray for them, constantly set 


i 9 4 


Devotions for Mass . 


them a good example, and show them all pos¬ 
sible charity and kindness in my intercourse 
with them. 


At the Collects. 

I ask Thee, O Lord, for all things which 
Thy servant is asking of Thee. I pray there¬ 
fore for myself, for every member of the com¬ 
munity, for all Christians, for all who have 
a heart capable of loving Thee. I ask all this 
of Thee for the sake of Jesus Christ Our Lord; 
I implore Thee continually to grant me to be¬ 
come a perfect religious; this is my chief, my 
sole desire. 

SECOND PART. FROM THE EPISTLE TO THE 
OFFERTORY. 

At the Epistle. 

I stand in the greatest need oi instruction, 
for were I duly enlightened concerning my 
God, my religion, the obligations of my state, 
and the necessity of becoming worthy of the 
name of nun, could I ever indulge myself in 


Mass for Non-communicants. 195 

sin ? No, O my God ! The saints in heaven 
can never offend Thee, because they know 
Thee as Thou art; teach me also, O my God, 
teach me to know Thee, in order that I may 
love Thee aright. 

Teach me how infinitely lovable Thou art 
on account of all Thy perfections; how 
greatly Thou art to be loved by me on account 
of all Thy benefits, and how ungrateful I 
should be were I not to love Thee, since I 
have chosen Thee and embraced the life of 
the cloister! 


At the Gospel. 

Thou, O Jesus, art my Teacher; Thou art 
the supreme Truth, the true Light which came 
down from heaven to enlighten those who are 
in darkness ! Speak, for I am Thy servant, 
and I listen to Thy voice in order that I may 
obey Thy commands. What dost Thou re¬ 
quire of me ? I am prepared for everything. 
Alas ! I know what Thou dost require. Thy 
will is that I should deny myself and carry my 
cross all the days of my life, that I should fol- 


196 


Devotions for Mass. 


low Thee by striving to imitate Thee. Thou 
dost command me to love Thee and to love 
my neighbor for Thy sake, and from love for 
Thee Thou dost command me to prove my 
love by fighting against my evil propensities, 
by faithfully keeping all Thy commandments, 
and by observing the evangelical counsels. I 
have made a solemn promise to Thee, I have 
pledged myself to observe them; I renew my 
promise with my whole heart, I repeat my 
vows, and how sincerely do I repent of not 
having kept them as I ought ! But sustained 
by the powerful help of Thy grace, I will strive 
to do better in future. 

At the Creed. 

I believe in Thee, O my God, and in every¬ 
thing which Thy Church teaches, since Thou 
hast pledged Thyself to preserve her from 
error. I believe it firmly, because Thou art 
Truth itself, which can neither deceive nor be 
deceived. 

I believe in Thee, O adorable Trinity, 
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ! I believe in 


Mass for Non-communicants. 197 • 

Thee, O only-begotten Son of God ! I be¬ 
lieve that Thou didst take upon Thyself our 
human nature, that Thou didst suffer for me, 
and lay down Thy life for my salvation. I 
believe that Thou art in heaven, and also in 
the Most Blessed Sacrament, where Thou dost 
intercede on my behalf. 

Increase my faith and graciously con¬ 
descend to enlighten all those who are in the 
darkness of error. 

THIRD PART. FROM THE OFFERTORY TO THE 
SANCTUS. 

At the Oblation of the Bread and Wine. 

How gladly, O my God, would I offer to 
Thee some oblation worthy of Thy supreme 
majesty and of all the benefits which Thou 
hast bestowed upon me; but what can I offer 
which does not already belong to Thee, which 
is not absolutely Thine own ? Yet I know 
what* I can offer to Thee, even Jesus Christ, 
Thine only Son, in whom Thou art well 
pleased. I offer Him to Thee, together with 
all His virtues, sentiments, words, and works, 


9 3 


Devotions for Mass. 


all His prayers, fasts, and tears, all His suffer¬ 
ings, and every drop of His most precious 
blood, together with all the mysteries of His 
adorable life and sacred Passion. 

I offer to Thee all the merits of the most' 
blessed Virgin, of the saints in heaven, of the 
souls in purgatory, and of the just upon earth. 
I offer up to Thee all that I have and all that 
I am, my soul, my body, and my senses, my 
thoughts, words, wishes, actions, works, my 
life and my death. I offer up to Thee all that 
I have, for I belong no longer to myself, I 
belong to Thee, to Thee alone; I am entirely 
Thine, Thine forever. A religious who does not 
belong altogether to her God is neither one 
thing nor the other. As this earthly bread can 
be changed into the sacred body of Jesus 
Christ, so do Thou, O Lord, instruct me, 
change me, in order that I may become a per¬ 
fect religious ! 


At the Lavabo. 

Thou, O Lord, art holiness itself, and I be¬ 
long to Thee ! There should be within me 


Mass for Non-communicants. 199 

nothing that is impure, and yet all is defiled, 
my mind, my heart, my senses. Purify me, 
cleanse me in the blood of Jesus Christ, my 
Redeemer; cause penitential tears to flow from 
my eyes, and may they proceed from a heart 
wounded with the wounds of love. 

At the Orate Fratres. 

How holy ought priests to be, since they 
approach so near to a thrice holy God. Grant, 
O Lord, that he who is now standing at Thy 
altar may be clothed with all the sanctity 
which Thou dost require of Thy servants. I 
entreat Thee to receive the oblation which he 
is about to offer for the glory of Thy name, 
for the sanctification of my soul, and for the 
welfare of the whole Church. 

At the Preface. 

I will bless and thank my God forever. 
How ungrateful should I be were I not to 
respond to the love which He feels for me ! 
How could this almighty God be more lavish 
in His benefits ? He has chosen me to be one 


202 


Devotions for Mass. 


At the Elevation of the Sacred Host. 

Where am I ? Do I still inhabit' this lower 
world ? Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, who is 
the joy of the angels and saints in heaven, is 
here present ! O Jesus ! I believe that Thou 
art truly present in the host, and from love for 
me hast humbled Thyself in so astounding a 
manner. I adore Thee, O my God ! I love 
Thee, O my celestial Bridegroom ! 

At the Elevation of the Chalice. 

Divine Redeemer ! come to the aid of Thy 
servant whom Thou has purchased anew with 
Thy most precious blood. Have mercy on 
me ! I earnestly entreat Thee to apply to me 
the merits of Thy sufferings and of Thy death; 
I belong entirely to Thee, and would rather 
die than displease Thee. For Thee I live, for 
Thee I die, Thine I am both in life and in 
death. 

After the Consecration. 

Most holy soul of Jesus Christ ! I am a 
sinner, sanctify me ! Sacred body of Jesus 


Mass for Non-communicants. 


203 


Christ, I am in danger of perishing, save me ! 
Precious blood of Jesus Christ, I burn with 
the desire of belonging wholly to thee, do 
thou quench my thirst ! Most pure water 
which didst flow from the wounded side of 
Jesus Christ ! my soul has been defiled by sins 
without number, do thou purify me ! O sweat 
of agony which didst drop from the counte¬ 
nance of Jesus Christ, thou dost possess the 
power to heal, heal me therefore, for I am 
sick ! Passion of Jesus Christ, my weakness is 
very great, do thou fortify me ! Most amiable 
Jesus ! I no longer belong to myself but to 
Thee; preserve me, hide me in Thy sacred 
wounds, and permit nothing in the world to 
separate me from Thy love; defend me against 
the malice of my enemies, call me in the hour 
of my death, bid me come to Thee, and place 
me near Thee as Thy beloved spouse. 

At the Memento for the Dead. 

I entreat Thee, O my God, to alleviate the 
sufferings of the holy souls which are sighing 
in purgatory. Would that it were in my power 


202 


Devotions for Mass. 


At the Elevation of the Sacred Host. 

Where am I ? Do I still inhabit this lower 
world ? Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, who is 
the joy of the angels and saints in heaven, is 
here present ! O Jesus ! I believe that Thou 
art truly present in the host, and from love for 
me hast humbled Thyself in so astounding a 
manner. I adore Thee, O my God ! I love 
Thee, O my celestial Bridegroom ! 

At the Elevation of the Chalice. 

Divine Redeemer ! come to the aid of Thy 
servant whom Thou has purchased anew with 
Thy most precious blood. Have mercy on 
me ! I earnestly entreat Thee to apply to me 
the merits of Thy sufferings and of Thy death; 
I belong entirely to Thee, and would rather 
die than displease Thee. For Thee I live, for 
Thee I die, Thine I am both in life and in 
death. 

After the Consecration. 

Most holy soul of Jesus Christ ! I am a 
sinner, sanctify me ! Sacred body of Jesus 


Mass for Non-communicants. . 203 

Christ, I am in danger of perishing, save me ! 
Precious blood of Jesus Christ, I burn with 
the desire of belonging wholly to thee, do 
thou quench my thirst ! Most pure water 
which didst flow from the wounded side of 
Jesus Christ ! my soul has been defiled by sins 
without number, do thou purify me ! O sweat 
of agony which didst drop from the counte¬ 
nance of Jesus Chris-t, thou dost possess the 
power to heal, heal me therefore, for I am 
sick ! Passion of Jesus Christ, my weakness is 
very great, do thou fortify me ! Most amiable 
Jesus ! I no longer belong to myself but to 
Thee; preserve me, hide me in Thy sacred 
wounds, and permit nothing in the world to 
separate me from Thy love; defend me against 
the malice of my enemies, call me in the hour 
of my death, bid me come to Thee, and place 
me near Thee as Thy beloved spouse. 

At the Memento for the Dead. 

I entreat Thee, O my God, to alleviate the 
sufferings of the holy souls which are sighing 
in purgatory. Would that it were in my power 


204 


Devotions for Afass. 


to procure for them at this moment deliver¬ 
ance from their pains and an entrance into Thy 
kingdom ! I commend to Thee in a special 
manner the souls of the nuns who lived in the 
community where I am; those, moreover, who 
had a particular devotion to the Most Holy 
Trinity, to the Passion of Jesus Christ, 
to Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacra¬ 
ment, to the Blessed Virgin, and to the holy 
angels. 

Remember also those souls which are most 
forsaken, likewise those the moment of whose 
deliverance is nearest at hand, and all who are 
suffering through my fault. 

Grant me so to live that I may enter heaven 
without passing through purgatory. 

FIFTH PART. FROM THE COMMUNION TO THE 
LAST PRAYERS. 

At the Our Father. 

Thou, O God, art my Father; and not mine 
alone, but the Father of all, more especially 
of Thy regenerate children; from the highest 
heaven, whence Thou dost govern all things 


Mass for Non-communicants. 205 

with admirable wisdom and where Thou dost 
constitute the felicity of the saints, deign to 
listen to the prayer of Thy child, Thy bride ! 
“ Hallowed be Thy name.” I desire to 
be holy, and to lead all my sisters to be¬ 
come also holy. “ Thy kingdom come.” 
Rule me by Thy grace so that I may one 
day reign with Thee in heaven. “ Thy will 
be done.” I conform my will entirely to 
Thy will, and I desire everything which Thou 
wiliest, and I desire it solely because Thou 
dost will it. I wish to fulfil Thy will as 
the holy angels do in heaven, gladly and 
perfectly. “ Forgive us our trespasses as 
we forgive them that trespass against us.” 
From love of Thee I love all my enemies with¬ 
out exception and all persons for whom I feel 
a natural aversion. Remember, O Lord, that 
Thou hast said: “ Forgive and you shall be 
forgiven.” “ Lead us not into temptation.” 
O my God ! do not permit me to be tempted, 
or, if Thou dost permit it, grant me the aid 
of Thy grace that I may not yield to the temp¬ 
tation. Remove from me occasions of sin, and 
help me that I may not expose myself to the 


20 6 


Devotions for Mass . 


danger of sinning. “ Deliver us from evil.” 
Sin is the greatest of all evils; purify me from 
all those which I have committed, and grant 
me the grace which I need in order to sin no 
more. After this life preserve me from hell, 
which I have repeatedly deserved, and also 
from purgatory, where the souls which are de¬ 
tained therein endure such terrible torments 
because they are separated from Thee. 
“ Amen.” I earnestly beseech Thee to grant 
all the petitions I have offered up for myself, 
for all nuns throughout the Christian world, 
and for all those who desire to love Thee, 
through the merits of Jesus Christ. 


At the Agnus Dei. 

O Lamb of God ! Thou wast willing to be 
slain in order to atone for our sins, to reconcile 
us with Thy heavenly Father, and to win 
heaven for us. Have mercy on all for whom 
Thou hast shed Thy precious blood ! Have 
mercy especially upon Thy handmaidens who, 
in order to serve Thee, have embraced the 
holy state of religion. Have mercy upon me! 


Afass for Non-coi?imunicanis. 


207 


At the Communion. 

Would it not be right and suitable for a 
bride of Jesus Christ whom her divine Bride¬ 
groom had led into solitude, that she might 
occupy herself with Him a’one and strive to 
please Him alone—would it not be suitable and 
right were she to draw near to Him in holy 
communion whenever she is present at the sub¬ 
lime sacrifice ? Yes, my God ! that would be 
fitting and right ! There was a time when 
Christians were accustomed to communicate 
daily. And He who deigns to be the food of 
our souls ardently desires to give Himself to 
us. Concealing Himself under the form of 
bread, He signifies to us that He is willing to 
nourish us daily with His sacred body, just as 
bread is our daily sustenance. Thus might I 
have the daily happiness of receiving my Well- 
beloved; but Thou, O my God, art the Holy 
of holies, while I am a sinner, and must there¬ 
fore conform to the rule of the house, which 
permits me only to approach Thy table on 
fixed days. But if I remain at a distance from 
Thee in a spirit of the deepest humility and 


208 


Devotions for Mass. 


reverence, that cannot prevent me from ap¬ 
proaching Thee in desire. I will make a spirit¬ 
ual communion. 

O Jesus, my celestial Spouse ! grant me the 
holy dispositions which this sublime sacra¬ 
ment requires, in order that when the Rule of 
the house allows me to receive holy com¬ 
munion I may do so in a manner pleasing to 
Thee and profitable to myself; and, although 
Thou dost not to-day give me Thy sacred 
body, give me Thy spirit, Thy grace, Thy 
love; grant that I may be changed into Thy 
likeness, that I may live Thv life. Amen ! 

SIXTH PART. THANKSGIVING FROM THE COM¬ 
MUNION TO THE CONCLUSION OF MASS. 

What can I say, what can I do, in order to 
show Thee the depth of my gratitude ? Was 
it not enough, O my most amiable Redeemer ! 
to offer Thyself up for me upon Mount Cal¬ 
vary ? Thy infinite love has led Thee to re¬ 
new upon our altars the sacrifice of the cross, 
in order to apply to my soul the merits of the 
same. With Thee have I offered up myself 


Mass for Non-communicants. 209 

in spirit, O infinite love ! Yes, I am dead, 
and my life is hid with Christ in God (Col. 
iii. 3), in order that I may be'in Thy sight a 
living sacrifice ever pleasing to Thee. I de¬ 
sire, O my God ! to offer myself up continu¬ 
ally in union with Jesus Christ, in order to 
honor Thy majesty, to appease Thy offended 
justice, to thank Thee for Thy benefits, and to 
draw down upon myself and the whole com¬ 
munity the graces of which we stand in need. 
Happy indeed do I consider myself since I am 
consecrated to Thee, and withdrawn from the 
world, where one is surrounded by countless 
dangers. I have only to think of pleasing 
Thee, Thou God of my heart ! Deal with me. 
O Lord, as with a beloved spouse ! 

Most Holy Trinity ! since the priest blesses 
me in Thy name, do Thou condescend to pour 
down upon me Thy richest blessings. Bless 
me now, bless me all the days of my life, bless 
me also at the moment of my death; bless 
also all those with whom I have the happiness 
to dwell, in the place whither Thou hast led me, 
in order that I may work out my sanctifica¬ 
tion, that so, in the kingdom which through 


2 10 


Devotions for Mass. 


Thy infinite love Thou hast prepared for us, we 
may unceasingly chant a hymn of praise in 
honor of Thy loving kindness. 

At the Last Gospel. 

O divine Word ! only-begotten Son of 
God, equal to the Father ! From all eternity 
Thou art inGod, Thou art very God ! I adore 
Thee now and will never cease to adore Thee. 
Through Thee all things were made; I am 
the work of Thy hands, do Thou preserve me! 
Thou art both light and life, enlighten me, 
live in me ! I will unceasingly bear witness 
that I am Thy child, Thy spouse, by my whole 
conduct, by a truly Christian life, a life suited 
to the cloister. When, O my celestial Bride¬ 
groom ! will the happy hour arrive when my 
soul, freed from the fetters of the flesh, from 
this body of sin, shall wing its flight to heaven, 
and enter into the holy city where Thou wilt 
be my joy forever ? Even the hope of this 
fills me with joy ! 


Mass for Non-communicants. 


211 


After Mass. 

Does my conscience not reproach me in any 
way concerning the manner and spirit in 
which I have been present at the celebration 
of the sublime mysteries ? Was I properly 
prepared when I came hither ? Have I pre¬ 
served a state of continual recollection ? 
Have I duly corresponded to all the graces 
with which the Lord has favored me ? Alas ! 
of how many distractions have I not to accuse 
myself ? And if none of them were voluntary, 
how slothful was I in awakening the due dis¬ 
positions of mind! Thou, O Lord, hast beheld 
everything, my distractions, my slothfulness. 
Forgive me, Lord ! Thou art goodness itself; 
accept my repentance, give heed to the desire 
I have to please Thee. O my Redeemer, I am 
about to quit for a time the holy place wherein 
Thou hast chosen to dwell; yet when I am not 
here in the body I shall be here in desire, and 
shall gladly return hither as soon as I am able 
to do so, for it is my joy to visit Thy altars. 
Grant that during my various occupations I 
may not forget Thee; I desire to sanctify all 


212 


Devotions for Mass. 


my employments, I offer them lip to Thee, 
let them be acceptable in Thy sight ! Whilst 
I am engaged in fulfilling them I will have no 
other motive than that of pleasing Thee; I 
will perform them all in union with Thee. 
Such is my resolution; but shall I be faithful 
to it, if Thou dost not continually vouchsafe 
me the help of Thy grace ? O my Well-be¬ 
loved ! O God of my heart ! O celestial 
Bridegroom of my soul, do Thou keep me 
ever in remembrance ! O Mary, my loving 
Mother ! I implore thy powerful intercession 
with Jesus, thy Son. Ye angels and saints in 
heaven ! pray for those who will one day be 
made partakers of your blessedness ! Amen. 


CHAPTER II. 

A METHOD OF HEARING MASS FOR THE USE OF 
INTENDING COMMUNICANTS. 

Before the Commencement of Mass. 

Keep your attention constantly fixed upon the great 
act of worship in which you have the privilege of taking 
part. 

Were I to-day invited to the table of an 
earthly prince, should I not be always think¬ 
ing about it ? The King of kings, before 
whom all the kings of the earth are as nothing, 
has prepared a great feast, to which I am in¬ 
vited. Jesus Christ will by means of it nourish 
me with His sacred body. What an honor ! 
Can any words suffice to express its magni¬ 
tude ? On this very day I shall ere long be 
fed with the living bread which has come 
down from heaven, and which gives life to 
those who are duly prepared to receive it; I 
213 


Devotions for Mass . 


214 

shall receive into my soul Jesus Christ, who is 
the Bridegroom of my soul. 


At the Commencement of Mass. 

Make an act of confidence in God, and beseech Him 
to renew a clean heart within you. 

I am in the house of the Lord; I shall soon 
approach His holy table; I shall there receive 
Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, the very same 
God who has given me so many proofs of His 
love, and who can make me happy, and de¬ 
sires to do so. Cease from sadness, O my 
soul ! and hope in thy God. My God, I place 
my hopes in Thee; Thou art my strength; 
lead me into Thy holy dwelling. Renew a 
clean heart within me and then give Thyself 
to me that I may never cease to praise Thee. 
Make Thy servant worthy to enter into Thy 
sanctuary, make me a perfect religious, that so 
I may partake of this Most Blessed Sacrament 
in a manner pleasing to Thee and beneficial 
to myself. Grant that all nuns and all other 
persons who are now about to communicate 
may do so in a similar spirit ! 


Mass for Intending Communicants. 215 


At the Confiteor and Kyrie. 

Excite feelings of abhorrence for all your sins. 

I have sinned, and have sinned so frequently 
and in so many ways ! Ever since the time 
when I possessed sufficient understanding to 
know my God I have sinned against Him ! 
Even in the holy state in which God of His 
mercy has placed me I have continued to sin ! 
And it has been entirely my own fault. My 
sins cry to heaven for vengeance; how can I 
venture to approach a thrice holy God since 
I am a sinner ! But Thou, O Lord ! art in¬ 
finite goodness, Thou dost willingly forgive, 
Thou dost always pardon those who confess 
their sins and repent of them out of love to 
Thee; I acknowledge them all, and am ready 
to confess before all the world that I am a 
sinner. 

O Mary ! refuge of penitent sinners ! I fly 
to thee, I am thy child, and thou art the ten- 
derest of mothers. O glorious St. Michae 1 , 
to thee is committed the guardianship of souls; 
it is thy office to present them to the supreme 


2 l6 


Devotions for Mass . 


Judge; I entreat thy powerful intercession 
with God. Blessed precursor of Jesus ! who 
didst preach with so much zeal the baptism of 
repentance, work in me the spirit of penance. 
Holy Apostles ! pray for my complete con¬ 
version; all ye angels and saints of heaven ! 
unite your prayers with theirs that I may com¬ 
municate worthily. Most Holy Trinity, 
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ! have mercy 
on a miserable sinner who is pierced with the 
deepest sorrow on account of her sins. 


At the Gloria. 

Offer your homage to Jesus Christ, who will vouch¬ 
safe to be born anew within you. 

O Son of God, who out of love for me didst 
become man, I unite my praises with those of 
the celestial choirs. How marvellous is Thy 
greatness and how admirable is Thy humility! 
When Thou wast born into the world Thou 
didst give glory to God in the highest and 
peace on earth to men of good will. 

Ere long Thou wilt be born again upon this 
altar; Thou dost descend from heaven in or- 


Mass for Intending Communicants. 217 

der to give Thyself to me. Thou dost desire 
to be born anew in me. O Author of all 
grace ! wilt Thou not effect in her whom 
Thou hast chosen to be Thy bride so great a 
degree of sanctity that I may never cease to 
praise, glorify, and adore Thee ? O Lamb of 
God ! who hast washed away my sins in Thy 
precious blood, wilt Thou not have mercy 
upon me ? Listen to my petitions: grant me 
to make a worthy communion; permit not 
that one of Thy spouses, whom Thou hast led 
into solitude in order that Thou mightest 
unite Thyself more completely with her, should 
communicate in a tepid or unworthy manner. 

At the Epistle. 

Desire to be instructed in the truths of salvation, 
and to conform your conduct thereto. 

Lord Jesus ! before Thou dost come to me, 
teach me by means of the truths which Thou 
hast appointed to be my instruction; it is Thy 
will that I should listen to them as if I were 
listening to Thee. The sacred truths which 
I ought to learn should never depart from my 


ii8 


Devotions for Mass. 


heart, but be deeply graven in my mind and 
become the rule of my life until my latest 
breath ! May they work out my sanctifica¬ 
tion ! Thou, the holy One, art about to unite 
Thyself with me. How holy ought I not to 
be ! Clothe me with a sanctity like unto Thy 
own ! Grant that all nuns may either be, or 
in future become, all that Thou dost desire 
them to be. 


At the Gospel. 

Stir yourself up to practise the sacred precepts of the 
Gospel. 

O my Redeemer ! O best Beloved of my 
soul ! Thou hast the words of eternal life ! 
Grant that I may hear Thy voice ! What 
sweetness, what peace do not Thy words in¬ 
fuse into hearts devoted to Thee ! Speak, I 
am Thy servant, and ready to obey Thee in 
all things. What dost Thou require of me ? 
Could I refuse anything to a God who loves 
me so tenderly, who from love gives Himself 
to me, and who, whilst so doing, justifies me 
in expecting everything from Him ? I will ac- 


Mass for Intending Co 7 iimu?iicants . 219 

cept the precepts of the Gospel, which are so 
opposed to those of the world and to the evil 
propensities of a corrupt nature; I will em¬ 
brace them, I will put them into practice. 
They do indeed appear attractive to me, since 
by following them I can please Jesus Christ, 
the God of my heart, whom ere long I shall 
truly possess within me. How could it pos¬ 
sibly be difficult for me to deny myself to fol¬ 
low the Son of God, who humbled Himself 
for my sake beyond all measure; unceasingly 
to crucify my flesh with its lusts, and thus to 
tread in the footsteps of the God-Man who 
suffered the death of the cross on account of 
my sins, and who shows Himself to be so 
generous in regard to me that He gives to me 
His very self ! Grant, O my God ! that all 
nuns may constantly be led to deny them¬ 
selves, to crucify themselves, and to imitate 
Jesus Christ as perfectly as they can. 

At the Creed. 

Make an act of faith. 

Thou, O my God, art the Truth itself, and 
Thou wouldst not be God if Thou wert not 


220 


Devotions for Mass. 


faithful to Thy promises ! Since Thou canst 
neither deceive nor be deceived, I firmly be¬ 
lieve all that Thou dost teach us by means of 
Thy Church, to which Thou hast promised 
infallibility. Yes, my God ! firmly grounded 
upon the infallibility of Thy word, I believe 
every article of faith. I believe the adorable 
mystery of one God in three persons. I be¬ 
lieve in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost. I believe that after my death I shall 
be judged and rewarded or punished accord¬ 
ing to my works. I believe that Jesus Christ 
has ordained the holy sacrament of penance 
for the remission of sins, and the Most Holy 
Sacrament of the Altar for the nourishment of 
our souls. I believe; do Thou, Lord, increase 
my faith. I am not ashamed of it; how happy 
should I be if I could seal it with my blood ! 
Grant that it may not be dead or without fruit. 
Grant me the peace of living by faith, and may 
every member of this community be able to 
say, “ I live in the faith of the Son of God ! ” 



Mass for Intending Communicants . 


221 


At the Offertory. 

Make an oblation of yourself to God, that He may 
make of you a new creature. 

Thou, O Jesus ! art almighty. By means 
of this almighty power Thy servant will be 
enabled, when he, in virtue of Thy command, 
repeats the words spoken by Thee, to change 
the bread into Thy sacred body, the wine into 
Thy precious blood. Work a similar miracle 
in me in order that I may no longer cleave to 
the things of earth, but desire only those 
which are heavenly; that I may only seek and 
find delight in divine things, that grace, vir¬ 
tue, and the bliss of heaven may appear to be 
alone desirable in my eyes, that I may be ani¬ 
mated by Thy spirit, O Jesus ! that I may be 
changed into Thy likeness, that Thou mayst 
abide in me, and in all those who dwell with 
me in Thy house. 


222 


Devotions for Mass. 


At the Lavabo. 

Fervently implore of God to cleanse you from all 
the stains wherewith sin has defiled your soul. 

O what purity is needed in order to ap¬ 
proach Thee, O my God ! who of necessity 
dost detest sin, now and forever. Would that 
I could possess the purity of the angels, the 
purity of Mary, the purest of virgins ! Love 
makes atonement for sin; cause tears of love 
to flow from my eyes, tears which proceed 
from a penitent heart inflamed by love. Pu¬ 
rify me in Thy blood, O amiable Redeemer ! 
Purify all those who have consecrated them¬ 
selves to Thee in order to serve and love Thee 
perpetually in the shadow of Thy sanctuary, 
in order that Thou mayst be able to say of 
each one of us: “ Thou art all fair, My love; 
there is no stain in thee ! ” 

At the Preface. 

Recollect yourself more profoundly whilst you pon¬ 
der upon the great mystery which is about to be 
celebrated. 

May the Lord be with me ! Jesus Christ 
will soon be verily present within me in order 


Mass for Intending Communicants. 223 

that from henceforth and forever He may 
abide in my heart and mind. 

O my God ! I belong entirely to Thee; it 
is my bounden duty earnestly to implore Thee 
to grant me Thy grace, and I desire nothing 
else while I am on earth. But how am I to 
free myself from the many debts I have accu¬ 
mulated ? I cannot do it of myself, but 
through the merits of Jesus Christ it is pos¬ 
sible for me to accomplish it. He will from 
love to me offer Himself up for me, and then 
give Himself to me. O my God ! the blessed 
spirits in heaven adore Thee; filled with holy 
awe I unite my praises to theirs. Holy, holy, 
holy is the Lord, the God of hosts; heaven 
and earth are full of His glory. Glory be to 
the Father, glory be to the Son, glory be to 
the Holy Ghost ! Blessed be Jesus Christ, the 
Son of God, who is about to descend upon 
this altar in the name of the Lord; from the 
same altar He will come to me and incorpo¬ 
rate Himself with me. In common with all 
nuns all the world over I will unceasingly 
praise Him ! 


224 


Devotions for Mass. 


At the Commencement of the Canon. 

Kindle within your heart zeal for the sanctification of 
souls. 

So precious is the blood of Jesus Christ 
that, had He so willed it, a single drop would 
have sufficed to redeem a thousand worlds. 
He has shed the whole of it for all those 
whose Redeemer He is. He desires to be the 
Redeemer of all, more especially of those who 
believe in Him. What a privilege should I 
esteem it could I promote their salvation ! 

O my God ! think of all the souls which 
Thou hast created after Thine image, and 
which have been redeemed by The blood of 
Thy Son. Thou hast made them out of noth¬ 
ing in order that they may become inhabitants 
of heaven; preserve them from eternal dam¬ 
nation, save them for Thy mercy’s sake ! I 
will pray unceasingly for all those for whom 
it is my duty to pray. But with an especial 
love hast Thou, O Lord ! loved us whom 
Thou hast placed in this sacred refuge; we 
have consecrated ourselves to Thee, we are 
the spouses of Thy Son, on whose flesh we 


Mass for Intending Communicants. 225 

so often feed. Remember us and vouchsafe 
us the grace to be so pure as to merit to be 
among the number of those virgins who fol¬ 
low the Lamb whithersoever He goeth and 
are ever near to Him, occupied in adoring 
Him and in chanting in His honor a sacred 
canticle of love. 

At the Consecration. 

Kindle your faith. Adore Jesus Christ with lowly 
reverence, and entreat Him to apply the merits of His 
blood to your soul. 

Jesus Christ is in this host; I believe Him 
to be truly, really, and actually therein. Ac¬ 
cept my tribute of homage, O my divine Re¬ 
deemer ! Thou art my Lord and my God ! 
I adore Thee, I love Thee, I devote myself to 
Thee, draw me to Thee. Apply to my soul 
the merits of the blood which Thou didst shed 
for me. Thou art the Author of all graces; 
bestow upon me all those which are necessary 
for me and useful to me. Come to me, give 
Thyself to me; give me Thy body, Thy blood. 
Thy soul, Thy divinity; nourish my soul 
therewith that it may live forever. 


226 


Devotions for Mass . 


After the Elevation. 

Consider the happiness which is soon to be yours. 

Through the infinite goodness of my God 
I shall ere long become a sharer in the un¬ 
speakable mysteries of the love of Jesus 
Christ. I shall feed upon the bread of angels. 
The priest will bring me the sacred host, it 
will rest for a moment upon my tongue, and 
then in a certain sense become part of myself. 
O my God! who art Thou, and who am I? 
Wherefore, O God of majesty ! dost Thou 
come to a wretched sinner ? Thou dost thus 
act, O Lord ! only out of compassion. I am 
sick and Thou desirest to heal me; I am 
weak and Thou, desirest to strengthen me; 
Thou art willing to bestow upon me who have 
deserved hell, the pledge of eternal life. O 
my Redeemer, act as the inspirations of Thy 
love dictate, in order that I, together with all 
other nuns who receive Thy sacred body, may 
never place a hindrance in the way of Thy 
merciful designs, and may be filled with all the 
treasures of Thy grace. 


Mass for Intending Communicants. 


227 


At the Memento for the Dead. 

Remember, O merciful God, so many souls 
who love Thee and Whom Thou dost also love. 
But since they still have faults to expiate, 
Thou dost not as yet permit them to enter 
upon the enjoyment of the glory which is in 
store for them. O that I could, by offering 
up for them this holy communion, hasten 
their release, and induce Thee to deliver them 
from the place of punishment wherein they are 
sighing, and to admit them without delay into 
the place of light, peace, and refreshment, into 
the abode of rest, glory, and bliss ineffable. 

At the Our Father. 

Lay all your needs before God with confidence, for 
He is the tenderest of fathers. 

Thou, O my Redeemer ! hast the heart of 
the tenderest of fathers; listen to my peti¬ 
tions; what canst Thou deny me ? Since 
Thou dost give Thyself to me, I place with 
confidence the desires of my heart before 
Thee. Let it be my great desire that Thy 


228 


Devotions for Mass. 


name may be hallowed. If I possess Thee 
within my heart and love Thee, ought I not 
to desire that Thou shouldst be known and 
loved ? 

Thy kingdom come ! Do Thou, O Lord, 
Thyself come and reign in me in order that I 
may one day reign with Thee in heaven. 

Thy will be done ! How could I oppose 
myself to Thy will when Thou dost dwell in 
me and art the God of my heart? O living 
bread which earnest down from heaven! I 
desire Thee, come and satisfy me ! I renounce 
with my whole heart and forever every feeling 
of aversion, every thought of hatred; ought 
not Christian charity to reign in my heart ? 
I am about to become the dwelling-place of 
Him who freely offered Himself up for His 
enemies. I desire, O my God ! that Thou 
wouldst forgive my sins, as I forgive all per¬ 
sons against whom I have cause for com¬ 
plaint. 

Thou art called the mighty God, the God 
of armies; put to flight the enemies of my 
salvation, or, if Thou dost permit them to at¬ 
tack me, enable me to be always victorious 


Mass for Intending Communicants. 229 

over them. If Thou art with me, who can be 
against me ? 

Deliver me from evil ! Preserve me, O 
God! from the terrible sin of making an un-' 
worthy communion ! Preserve me from 
making a tepid communion ! Preserve me 
from all sin ! I hope that Thou wilt also pre¬ 
serve me from hell and from purgatory. I will 
strive to have my purgatory upon earth by 
seeking to be purged in the fire of penance 
and charity. 


Before the Communion. 

Awaken sentiments of holy fear, of humility, hope, 
and love. 

O Lamb of God ! I am nothing but a sin¬ 
ner; since Thou art holiness itself, I fear to 
approach Thee; but Thou hast taken away 
the sins of the world, and I detest all my sins 
because of the offences I have thereby com¬ 
mitted against Thy perfections. Have mercy 
on me, have mercy on me, have mercy on me ! 

My God, I am unworthy to receive Thee, 
and I have so often rendered myself unworthy, 


230 


Devotions for Mass. 


but Thou art merciful and almighty; change 
my heart, fill it with that burning love which 
has power to cleanse the greatest sinners. 
Grant that this communion may not be for 
my judgment and condemnation, but may be 
for me a safeguard and means of salvation. 
Thus will I receive the heavenly bread and 
call upon the name of the Lord. I adore Thee, 
O Jesus ! Thou art my Lord and my God ! 
I hope in Thee ! Confirm my hope that it 
may not be in vain ! I desire Thee ! and I 
desire to receive Thee, to be changed into 
Thee, to live for Thee alone. Grant that my 
desire may become yet more fervent ! 

I love Thee ! Or do I deceive myself ? 
Lord ! if I do not already love Thee, make 
me to love Thee from this time forth. My 
God ! Thou knowest that I love Thee, that I 
desire to love Thee ever more and more, and 
to cause others to increase in love of Thee. 
Come, Lord Jesus ! in order to dwell in my 
heart that longs after Thee, that loves Thee, 
and will ever love Thee on account of Thy 
infinite perfections ! 


Mass for Intending Communicants . 


231 


On Leaving the Holy Table. 

Consider with amazement the condescen¬ 
sion of your God. God is within me: God is 
infinitely great, and what am I ? A mere 
nothing, a contemptible creature; one who 
has rebelled against God, the supreme and 
sovereign Being. Out of pure love He has 
given Himself to me ! 

An act of adoration. Let all the powers of 
my soul fall prostrate before their God. He is 
the Lord of all. 

O my God ! Thou art my Master, I am 
Thine, I belong to Thee alone; with what 
gladness does the thought of my dependence 
upon Thee fill my soul. With my whole heart 
do I renew all the promises which I have made 
to Thee; I will strive to fulfil them to the 
uttermost. 

An act of thanksgiving. What shall I render 
to the Lord for all He hath rendered unto 
me ? I have taken the chalice of salvation; 
I will work out my salvation, and praise Him 
without ceasing. 

An act of love. O God ! Thou art love it- 


232 


Devotions for Mass. 


self, I desire also to be made like unto Thee 
in love. I love Thee, O God of love ! I love 
Thee because Thou hast loved me, and be¬ 
cause Thou art worthy to be loved on account 
of Thy infinite perfections. I love Thee be¬ 
cause Thou art God ! O my Jesus ! how 
great and how holy Thou art ! How amiable 
on account of all Thy perfections ! O most 
amiable Lord, what can I do that I may love 
Thee as I ought ? Would that I could be the 
means of causing all hearts to glow with 
love for Thee ! It is most just that at least 
all nuns who are spouses of Jesus Christ 
should be inflamed and consumed with this 
love. 

May the body and blood of Jesus Christ 
preserve my soul unto eternal life ! May Thy 
body, O Lord, which I have received, cleave 
to my inmost parts, and grant that no stain of 
sin may remain in me whom this pure and 
holy sacrament has refreshed. 

Remain ever with me, Lord, and grant that 
I may never depart from Thee. Continually 
bless me, and grant that I may never cease 
from praising Thee. Shower down Thy bless- 


Mass for Intending Communicants. 233 


ings constantly upon me, and I will give Thee 
thanks forever and ever. 


At the Last Gospel. 

The Word was made flesh and has dwelt in 
me; He dwells within me at tlfis moment. May 
my heart be ever His temple, His sanctuary, 
the place where He delights to abide. Abide 
with me, O my Jesus ! and awaken within me 
all the feelings of reverence, gratitude, and 
love with which my soul ought to overflow. 
Remain in me in order that I may have much 
zeal in bearing witness for Thee; what a hap¬ 
piness would it be for me could I die for Thee, 
could I shed my blood in return for Thine 
which Thou didst shed for me, and give my 
life in return for Thy life, in order thereby to 
make Thee loved more and more. Abide with 
me, vouchsafe to speak to Thy handmaid. I 
am prepared for all things, I am sincerely re¬ 
solved at once, joyfully and lovingly, to do 
all which Thou dost command me, counsel 
me, suggest to me to do. O Author of all 
grace, Thou hast given me the good will, 


234 Devotions for Mass . 

grant me also to perform what is good. 
Amen. 

On the day of communion you should 

i. Form good resolutions. 

O my God ! this is what I propose to do. 
I earnestly entreat Thee to bestow upon me 
the necessary grace to carry out my resolu¬ 
tions faithfully. 

1. In the course of the day I will frequently 
offer myself up to Thee and say: “ Take pos¬ 
session of me, O my God! I am wholly Thine; 
take my freedom, my memory, my under¬ 
standing, my will; I give myself up to Thee 
wholly and forever.” 

2. I will perform all my actions for the 
greater glory of God. 

3. I will not conform myself to the world; 
I renounce it, I am dead to it ; the world is 
crucified unto me; I feel only loathing and 
contempt for that which the world values and 
esteems, for its fleeting goods, vain honors, 
delusive pleasures. My delight is in poverty, 
humiliations, and mortification. 

4. I will strive to be meek and humble of 
heart in order to please my Well-beloved, 



Mass for Intending Com?nunicants. 235 

who has commanded me to learn of Him to 
practise these virtues. I will not say or do 
anything which betrays impatience, or which 
might possibly wound those in whose com¬ 
pany I am. I will regard myself as the last 
of all, and will give thanks to God when I am 
forgotten, injured, or despised. 

5. I will maintain a constant struggle 
against tepidity by great regularity in the 
performance of all my religions exercises, and 
I will stimulate my faith by holy thoughts 
in order that I may perform those exercises 
with greater fervor. I will allow no day to 
pass without offering up some prayer in honor 
of the Most Blessed Trinity, of the Passion of 
Jesus Christ, and of the Most Holy Sacrament 
of the Altar, in honor of the Blessed Virgin, 
my beloved Mother, and of the angels and 
saints. 

6. I will love solitude in order to attain 
greater recollection of soul, and to enable my¬ 
self to hold continual converse with Him who 
is the God of my heart. I will go to the par¬ 
lor as if I were about to perform an act of 
penance. I will remain there as short a time 


236 


Devotions for Mass. 


as possible, and during the period of my stay 
I will strive to give edification by means of 
my modesty and holy conversation. Yet I 
will not allow my dove of retirement to pre¬ 
vent me from spending with my sisters the 
whole of the time which is appointed for me 
to spend with them, and during this time I 
will make it my constant effort to prove to 
them that I belong altogether to God. I will 
show them that I am truly anxious for their 
happiness and sanctification. 

7. I will remember that the practice of mor¬ 
tification at meal times is the A B C of the 
spiritual life. I will accept my food as an a 1 ms, 
and, since I have taken a vow of poverty, I 
will feel myself undeserving of food so well pre¬ 
pared and so plentiful. I will never cease to 
make an offering to God of whatever is least 
pleasing to my palate. While I am nourish¬ 
ing my body with earthly food I will listen 
attentively to the spiritual reading which is 
going on, and feed my soul with holy 
thoughts. The earthly bread will recall to my 
memory the bread of angels, of which I have 
partaken at the table of the Lord. 


Mass for Intending Communicants . 237 

8. Every hour of the day I will make an act 
of sorrow and love of God while I say: “ My 
God ! I repent of my sins, and I love Thee 
because Thou art my God, and still more be¬ 
cause Thou art the supreme and a’mighty 
God. I renounce thee, Satan ! O my God ! 
I will cleave to Thee forever; grant me grace 
never to transgress my vows and faithfully to 
observe my holy Rule.” 

9. I will perform all my actions in union 
with Jesus Christ by recalling to my memory 
the manner in which His actions were per¬ 
formed and by seeking to be imbued with His 
holy teaching. My motto shall be: “All for 
Jesus, with Jesus, and in Jesus ! ” 

10. Besides the general examination of con¬ 
science, I will make every day a particular ex¬ 
amination in regard to the faults against which 
I have especially to struggle, and the virtue 
which I have set myself especially to practise 
during the course of the month. In order to 
cleanse my soul from all ill-regulated affection 
I will frequently ask myself: To what does 
your heart cleave ? 

11. A week before all the great festivals I 


Devotions for Mass . 


238 

will prepare myself to celebrate them by re¬ 
peating each day a prayer that I may spend 
. them in a worthy manner. 

12. I will spend the interval between one 
holy communion and another in thanksgiv¬ 
ing for the first and preparation for the next, 
by offering up all my actions for this intention. 

13. I will frequently visit the Most Holy 
Sacrament of the Altar ; at each visit I will 
make a spiritual communion and commend 
myself to the most blessed Virgin and to my 
holy patron saints. 

14. Convinced by my own experience how 
important it is to begin and end each day 
aright, I will never be negligent in this respect. 
I will never betake myself to rest without hav¬ 
ing made a preparation for death; if I lie 
awake in bed I will excite in myself holy re^ 
flections, and not occupy myself with vain and 
unprofitable thoughts. As soon as I wake I 
will raise my heart to God and unite it closely 
to Him. When I hear the signal for rising 
I will regard any delay in doing so as a fault 
which may deprive me of many graces. Hav¬ 
ing dressed myself with the utmost modesty, 


AT ass for Intending Communicants . 239 

I will immediately betake myself to prayer and 
repeat some vocal prayers. As soon as pos¬ 
sible I will humbly prostrate myself before the 
altar where the Most Blessed Sacrament is re¬ 
posing. 

15. A fault which is not repented of, speed¬ 
ily draws another in its train. Therefore when 
I perceive that I have committed any fault I 
will grieve over it, humble myself on account 
of it, entreat Thee, O my God ! to pardon it, 
impose at once some penance upon myself, 
and, without giving way to discouragement, 
pursue my daily avocations in a spirit of con¬ 
fidence. 

Thou, O God, hast taught me to form these 
resolutions, do Thou vouchsafe to bless them. 

Alas ! I am so inconstant; if Thou dost not 
continually come to my aid, if Thou dost not 
constantly assist me by Thv grace, I shall for¬ 
get them; or if I remember them, I shall not 
carry them out faithfully. I should then be 
serving my own passions instead of serving 
Thee, I should forsake Thee and betray Thee 
who hast so loved me and art so infinitely 
lovable ! And how guilty, how ungrateful, 


240 


Devotions for Mass . 


how faithless I should then be; remember, O 
Jesus, that I am Thy spouse, that Thou hast 
given Thyself to me, that I possess Thee; I 
earnestly beseech Thee not to withdraw Thy¬ 
self from me! I have found Him whom my , 
soul loveth, I will hold Him fast and never 
separate myself from Him. Amen, Amen ! 
Praise and thanksgiving be offered continually 
to the Most Holy and Most Adorable Sacra¬ 
ment ! 

2. Frequently renew your baptismal and re¬ 
ligious vows in the following manner: 

My God, I believe in Thee, I hope in Thee, 

I adore Thee with all the reverence of which 
my nature is capable. With my whole heart 
I thank Thee for the great graces which in 
Thy infinite mercy Thou hast bestowed upon 
me. I thank Thee more especially for this, 
that after I had been made a Christian in holy 
baptism, Thou didst call me to Thee in the re¬ 
ligious state, and didst choose me to be one 
of those who dwell in Thy house, and are re¬ 
garded by Thee with special love. What 
ought I not to do to testify my gratitude ? 



Mass for lute tiding Communicants . 241 

But, alas ! how many acts of unfaithfulness 
I have committed since the ever-memorab e 
day when I dedicated myself to Thee ! I blush 
to remember them, I repent of them; God of 
all goodness, forgive me all these faults which 
I detest, and renew in my soul all the pious 
dispositions which Thou didst infuse into it 
when I broke entirely with the world and sol¬ 
emnly dedicated myself to Thy service. 

Remove from my heart every ill-regulated 
desire, every affection unworthy of a perfect re¬ 
ligious. Grant me to practise all the virtues 
which are symbolized by the religious habit 
which I am privileged to wear. Clothe me 
with the new man, even Jesus Christ, who is 
made in Thy likeness in true justice and per¬ 
fect holiness. By the aid of Thy grace, and 
full of confidence in Thy great mercy and the 
infinite merits of Jesus Christ, I renounce sin¬ 
cerely, entirely, and forever the world, the 
flesh, and the devil; every sin, every vanity, 
the honors, goods, and pleasures of the world. 
O God of my heart ! I take Thee anew to be 
my portion, my sole inheritance. O Jesus ! 
my Redeemer and my Teacher ! I will partake 


242 


Devotions for Mass. 


of Thy chalice of suffering until my latest 
breath. May the remembrance of Thy suffer¬ 
ings be ever present to my mind in order that 
thus I may be enabled to carry my cross after 
Thee with perseverance and with love. 

O Mary, my dearest Mother ! O ye angels 
and saints of heaven ! Holy founder to whom 
the Order to which I belong owes its being 
and who dost continually watch over it in the 
presence of God, more especially thou, St. 
Joseph, who art never invoked in vain, and 
you, chaste spouses of Jesus Christ, whose 
privilege it is to follow the divine Lamb 
whithersoever He goeth, because you were 
faithful to Him whilst you were on earth, ob¬ 
tain for me grace to keep my vows with fidel¬ 
ity, to observe my holy Rule, and to do all 
things which God requires of me, in order that, 
after I have continually striven to please Him 
here upon earth, I may possess Him in heaven 
for all eternity. Amen! 


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OUR BOYS’ AND GIRLS’ OWN. 


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